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THE  NATURAL  RESOURCES 
AND  ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS 
OF  THE    STATE   OF  TEXAS. 


The  MERCHANTS'  Association  of  New  York 


THE  NATURAL  RESOURCES 
AND  ECONOMIC  CONDITIONS 
OF  THE  STATE  OF  TEXAS 


REPORT  OF  AN  EXAMINATION  MADE 
BY  A  SPECIAL  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION  OF  NEW 
YORK,  BY  INVITATION  OF  THE 
GOVERNOR  AND  LEGISLATURE 
OF  TEXAS 


December,  1901 

593^59 


Copyright,  1901. 

The  Merchants'  Association 

OF  New  York. 


:? 


RESOLUTIONS. 


^— —      A  'T  ^  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  The  Merchants' 
r{        /A     Association   of   New   York,    Thursday,   December   5,   the 
p^;        following  preambles  and  resolutions  were  adopted  by  a  unanimous 
vote: 

Whereas,  the  Hon.  Joseph  D.  Sayers,  Governor  of  the  State 
of  Texas,  in  an  address  to  a  large  number  of  merchants,  at  a  re- 
ception given  at  the  Merchants'  Club  in  October,  1900,  invited 
The  Merchants'  Association  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  to 
send  committees  to  the  State  of  Texas  for  the  purpose  of  study- 
K        ing  the  economic  conditions  of  that  State,  which  invitation  was 
^         subsequently  concurred  in  by  an  official  resolution  of  the  Legis- 
^         lature  of  the  State  of  Texas ;  and, 

Whereas,  in  accordance  with  such  invitation,  William  F. 
•^  King,  then  President  of  The  Merchants'  Association,  appointed 
^  a  committee  of  thirty  members,  who  visited  Texas  as  the  guests 

of  a  committee  representing  that  State,  appointed  by  the  Speaker 
j  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  in  accordance  with  the  invita- 
0  tion  extended  by  that  body,  which  committee  received  unbounded 
hospitality  at  the  hands  of  the  Texas  Reception  Committee,  the 
State  officials  and  the  people  of  Texas,  and  were  given  every 
facility  possible  within  the  limit  of  time  at  their  disposal  to  visit 
the  principal  points  of  interest  in  the  State,  and  to  study  the  con- 
ditions therein ;  now,  therefore,  be  it 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  Directors  of  The  Merchants'  Associa- 
tion, hereby  express  our  thanks  to  the  Hon.  Joseph  D.  Sayers, 
Governor  of  the  State  of  Texas ;  to  the  Legislature  of  that  State ; 
to  the  Hon.  R.  E.  Prince,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  that  State,  by  whom  the  Reception  Committee  was  appointed ; 
to  Edwin  Chamberlain,  Esq.,  chairman  of  the  State  Reception 
Committee ;  to  S.  P.  Skinner,  Esq.,  vice-chairman ;  to  Louis  J. 
Wortham,  Esq.,  secretary,  and  the  fourteen  other  members  of  the 
State  Reception  Committee ;  to  the  various  local  committees  in  the 


different  cities  and  towns  visited  by  the  Committee,  and  to  the 
many  citizens  of  the  State  who  aided  the  State  Committee  and  the 
local  committees  in  entertaining  the  two  visiting  committees ;  as 
well  as  the  railroads,  telegraph  companies,  newspapers  and  other 
corporate  or  private  interests,  for  the  numerous  courtesies  ex- 
tended by  them ;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Directors  of  The  Merchants'  As- 
sociation hereby  approves  the  report  of  the  chairman  and  secre- 
tary of  the  Association's  Committee,  and  of  the  various  sub-com- 
mittees, now  presented  and  entitled  "The  Natural  Resources  and 
Economic  Conditions  of  the  State  of  Texas,"  and  extends  its 
thanks  to  the  members  of  the  Committee  for  their  intelligent  and 
careful  performance  of  the  work  delegated  to  them ;  and  directs 
that  the  report  of  the  Committee  be  printed,  together  with  these 
resolutions,  duly  certified  by  the  signatures  of  the  president  and 
the  secretary,  and  by  the  official  seal  of  The  ^Merchants'  Associa- 
tion of  New  York. 

[Signed] 

Attest:  D.  Le  Roy  Dresser, 

John  C.  Eames,  President. 

Secretary. 

New  York,  Dec.  5.  1901. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Introductory    1-13 

Invitation  by  Governor  Sayers,  1-2 ;  Joint  Resolutions  of 
Legislature,  2-4;  Texas  State  Reception  Committee,  4; 
Delegates  of  The  Merchants'  Association,  5-6 ;  Delegates 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  G;  Itinerary,  7-9;  Sub- 
Committees,  10-11 ;  Inadequacy  of  Official  Data,  11-13. 

Water  Supplies  of  Texas 15-25 

Chart  I.:  Distribution  of  Rainfall  Throughout  the  United 

States,    14;   Chart   II.:    Precipitation,   facing   16;    Chart 

III.:    Evaporation,    facing   18. 
Diagrams  1,  2,  3.     Precipitation  Curves,  Pp.  26,  27,  28. 

Agricultural  Conditions  and  Resources  of  Texas 29-68 

Chart  IV.:  Geographical  Zones  of  Texas,  facing  29;  Chart 
v.:  Isothermal  Zones  of  United  States,  July  Tem- 
perature, 30;  Chart  VI.:  Isothermal  Zones  of  United 
States,  January  Temperature,  32;  Chart  VII.:  Soils  and 
Annual  Rainfall  of  Texas,  facing  36;  Chart  VIII.: 
Geological  Formations  of  Texas,  facing  38;  Chart  IX.: 
Cotton  Distribution  of  United  States,  61;  Chart  X.: 
Wheat  Distribution  of  United  States,  62;  Chart  XL: 
Corn  Distribution  of  United  States,  63;  Chart  XII.: 
Oats  Distribution  of  United  States,  64;  Chart  XIIL: 
Distribution  of  Beef  Cattle  of  United  States,  65;  Chart 
XIV.:  Distribution  of  Sheep  of  United  States,  66; 
Chart    XV.:    Hog    Distribution    of   United    States,    67. 

Mineral  Resources  of  Texas 71-76 

Chart  XVI.:  Distribution  of  Minerals  in  Texas,  facing  71. 

Forest  Resources  and  Lumber  Industry  of  Texas 77-81 

Chart  XVII. :  Distribution  of  Forests  of  Texas,  facing  77. 

Health  Conditions  and  Climate  of  Texas 83-95 

Chart  XVIII. :  Mean  Annual  Temperature,  facing  83. 

Manufacturing  Industries  of  Texas 96-98 

Labor  Conditions  of  Texas 99-101 

Transportation  and  Export  Facilities  of  Texas 103-112 

Banks  and  Financial  Interests  of  Texas 113-116 

Public  Educational  Institutions  in  Texas 117-136 

Texas  Legislation  and  its  Tendencies 139-146 


INTRODUCTORY. 


To  the  Directors  of  The  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York. 

THE  special  committee  of  the  Merchants'  Association  of  New 
York,  appointed  in  March  last  by  Mr.  William  F.  King, 
then  president,  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  the  State  of  Texas  in 
response  to  an  invitation  extended  by  the  Legislature  of  that 
State,  submit  herewith  a  report  of  their  tour. 

It  may  be  well  to  preface  the  report  by  a  statement  of  the 
conditions  which  led  to  the  invitation  and  the  subsequent  tour 
through  the  State  for  an  examination  of  its  resources  and 
economic  conditions.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  State  of 
New  York  and  The  Merchants'  Association  of  New  York 
raised  a  large  fund  for  the  relief  of  Galveston  after  the  terrible 
hurricane  of  September  8,  1900.  The  Honorable  Joseph  D. 
Sayers,  Governor  of  Texas,  came  to  New  York  in  the  following 
month  to  attend  a  bazaar  for  the  benefit  of  Galveston's  orphans, 
under  the  auspices  of  one  of  the  metropolitan  newspapers.  Acting 
for  the  State  of  Texas,  he  made  an  official  call  upon  the  officers  of 
the  Chamber  of  Commerce  and  The  Merchants'  Association,  to 
thank  them  in  the  name  of  the  State  for  the  generous  aid  given 
by  the  relief  committees  of  these  two  organizations  to  the  dis- 
tressed citizens  of  Galveston.  He  was  given  a  reception  at  the 
Merchants'  Club,  which  was  largely  attended  by  the  members  of 
The  Merchants'  Association.  Mr.  John  Claflin,  chairman  of  the 
Galveston  Relief  Committee  of  The  Merchants'  Association,  and 
also  a  member  of  the  Relief  Committee  of  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce, presided. 

On  this  occasion  Governor  Sayers  made  an  eloquent  address 
expressive  of  the  deep  gratitude  felt  by  the  people  of  Texas  for 

1 


2  INTRODUCTORY. 

the  generosity  shown  by  New  York.  In  the  course  of  his  re- 
marks he  expressed  the  wish  that  the  incident  might  open  the 
way  for  intimate  and  friendly  relations;  and  that  it  might  lead 
his  hearers  to  a  knowledge  of  the  resources  of  Texas,  and  the  invit- 
ing opportunities  which  it  presents  to  capital.  Continuing,  he 
said: 

"Now,  I  am  going  to  make  you  this  proposition, 
gentlemen :  That  this  great  association,  representing 
as  it  does  energy,  enterprise,  ability  and  wealth,  ap- 
point three  of  its  own  members,  or  five,  if  it  pleases, 
as  a  committee  to  visit  our  State.  I  extend  to  them 
right  here  the  invitation,  and  I  will  lay  before  them 
every  law  that  is  on  the  statute  book ;  I  will  give  them 
the  entry  to  every  department  of  Government,  and, 
after  that  I,  or  some  one  representing  me,  will  accom- 
pany the  committee  to  every  section  of  the  State.  Upon 
the  report  of  that  committee,  based  on  its  investiga- 
tions, I  am  willing  to  stand  or  fall." 

The  Gavemor  then  told  of  some  of  the  conditions  that  make 
the  industrial  development  of  Texas  an  inviting  field  to  capital, 
and  protested  against  the  erroneous  belief  that  Texas  laws  are 
hostile  to  outside  capital,  especially  to  corporate  capital.  He 
declared  this  untrue,  and  therefore  he  was  desirous  that  wrong 
impressions  which  had  become  current  should  be  dissipated  by 
the  personal  observation  of  delegates  from  the  two  great  business 
organizations  of  the  metropolis. 

The  invitation  so  extended  by  Governor  Sayers  was  officially 
endorsed  by  the  Texas  Legislature,  which,  by  unanimous  vote, 
adopted  the  follow^ing 


JOINT  RESOLUTIONS. 


Be  il  Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives, 
That  in  behalf  of  the  people  of  the  great  State  of 
Texas,  who  are  desirous  of  encouraging  the  establish- 
ment of  industrial   enterprises,  especially  cotton,   wool 


INTRODUCTORY. 

and  shoe  factories,  and  with  the  further  object  of  de- 
veloping our  great  mineral  resources ;  and 

Whereas,  It  is  a  recognized  fact  that  the  State  of 
Texas  offers  advantages  for  all  classes  of  industries 
superior  to  any  other  State  in  the  Union  by  reason  of 
its  diversified  resources,  mild  and  healthful  climate, 
rich  and  productive  soil,  vast  territory.  Gulf  ports  and 
railroad  facilities,  thereby  reducing  the  cost  of  trans- 
portation, being  the  greatest  cotton,  wool  and  stock 
producing  State  in  the  Union  ;  and 

Whereas,  His  Excellency,  the  Governor,  did  invite 
a  committee  to  be  appointed  by  The  Merchants'  Asso- 
ciation and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  the  City  of 
New  York  to  visit  the  State  of  Texas  for  the  purpose 
of  investigating  our  resources  and  for  the  further  pur- 
pose and  object  of  investing  capital  in  factories  and 
legitimate  enterprises ;  and 

Whereas,  The  appointment  of  said  committee  by 
The  Merchants'  Association  and  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce is  now  awaiting  the  bidding  of  the  Governor  to 
visit  us  at  his  pleasure;  therefore  be  it 

Resolved  by  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the 
State  of  Texas,  That  we  heartily  endorse  the  action  of 
the  Governor  and  join  him  in  his  invitation  to  said 
committee;  and  be  it  further 

Resolved,  That  we  invite  the  establishment  of  legiti- 
mate enterprises  of  every  kind  in  our  State,  assuring 
them  of  every  just  encouragement  and  protection;  be 
it  further 

Resolved,  That  the  Speaker  extend  an  invitation  to 
one  citizen  from  each  Congressional  district  to  co- 
operate with  the  Governor  in  showing  the  committee 
the  various  sections  of  the  State,  and  accompany  said 
committee  through  his  district  of  the  State;  be  it 
further 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  this  resolution  be  for- 
warded to  The  Merchants'  Association  and  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  the  City  of  New  York. 


4  INTRODUCTORY. 

In  accordance  with  these  resolutions,  the  Hon.  R.  E.  Prince, 
Speaker  of  the  Texas  House  of  Representatives,  appointed  a 
committee,  composed  of  one  business  man  from  each  Congres- 
sional district  of  the  State,  to  receive  the  delegates  from  The 
Merchants'  Association  and  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  and  to 
escort  them  upon  a  tour  throughout  the  State. 

The  following  gentlemen  comprised 


THE  TEXAS  STATE  RECEPTION  COMMITTEE. 


Edwin  Chamberlain,  Chairman San  Antonio. 

S.  P.  Skinner,  Vice-Chairman Waxahachie. 

Louis  J.  Worth  AM,  Secretary Austin. 

E.  H.  R.  Green Terrell. 

H.  B.  Rice Houston. 

J.  A.  Kemp Wichita  Falls. 

E.   J.    Fry, Marshall. 

B.  B.  Paddock Fort  Worth. 

J.  W.  RiGGiNS Waco. 

R.  J.   Kleberg Alice. 

W.   A.   Williams Greenville. 

W.   W.   HosKiNS Velasco. 

W.   C.   Hargrove Pittsburg. 

J.    M.    Pierson McKinney. 

The  Merchants'  Association,  at  a  special  meeting  of  the 
Board  of  Directors,  accepted  the  invitation  unanimously  on 
behalf  of  the  Association,  and  requested  Mr.  William  F.  King, 
the  president,  to  appoint  a  committee  of  thirty.  Mr.  King  desig- 
nated Mr.  William  R.  Corwine,  of  the  office  of  The  Merchants' 
Association,  as  his  representative,  to  arrange  for  the  trip,  and 
the  following  committee  was  appointed: 


INTRODUCTORY. 


DELEGATES  OF  THE  MERCHANTS'  ASSOCIATION. 


Alvah  Trowbridge,  Chairman ;  President  Ninth  Na- 
tional Bank  and  President  American  Bankers'  As- 
sociation. 

Dick  S.  Ramsay,  President  Hide  and  Leather  National 
Bank. 

William  G.  Hoople,  Investor  and  Director  Hide  and 
Leather  National  Bank. 

George  C.  Potter,  Hutchens  &  Potter,  Manufacturers, 
Johnstown,  N.  Y. 

Charles  B.  Knox,  Manufacturer,  Johnstown,  N.  Y. 

C.  M.  Wicker,  H.  B.  Hollins  &  Co.,  Bankers,  and  Vice- 

President  Ft.  Worth  &  R.  G.  R.  R. 

H.  A.  Metz,  President  Victor  Koechl  Co. ;  Member 
New  York  Board  of  Education. 

H.  Elmer  Gibb,  Mills  &  Gibb,  Dry  Goods  Importers. 

Frank  L.  Sheldon,  Frank  L.  Sheldon  &  Co.,  Brokers. 

Gustav  A.  Jahn,  G.  a.  Jahn  &  Co.,  and  President  At- 
lantic Rice  Mills  Co. 

D.  Le  Roy  Dresser,  Dresser  &  Co.,  Dry  Goods  Com- 

mission Merchants. 

Rev.  Joseph  Newton  Hallock,  D.  D.,  Editor  and 
Proprietor  The  Christian  Work. 

William  H.  Gratwick,  Investor  and  Specialist  on 
Lumber,  Buffalo,  N.  Y. 

C.  T.  Root,  President  Textile  Publishing  Co.  and  Ed- 
itor The  Dry  Goods  Economist. 

George  Clinton  Batcheller,  G.  C  Batcheller  &  Co., 
Manufacturers. 

Henry  B.  Cosgrove,  Broker. 

W.  A.  Marble,  Vice-President  R.  &  G.  Corset  Co. 

Dr.  George  A.  Soper,  Sanitary  Engineer  and  Chemist. 

Thomas  Crimmins,  J.  D.  &  T.  C  Crimmins,  Engineers. 

Manly  A.  Ruland,  Ruland  &  Whiting,  Real  Estate. 

John  H.  Pynes,  Manufacturer  Knit  Goods,  Water- 
ford,  N.  Y. 


6  INTRODUCTORY. 

C.  H.  Kavanaugh,  Manufacturer  Knit  Goods,  Water- 
ford,  N.  Y. 
James  B.  Dill,  Counsel  to  The  Merchants'  Association. 
Charles   G.    Crawford,    Wynkoop-Hallenbeck-Craw- 

ford  Co.,  Printers  and  Publishers. 
Frank  Nicholson,  Investor  and  Mining  Expert. 
G.  W.  Graham,  Broker. 
S.  Cristy  Mead,  Assistant  Secretary  of  The  Merchants' 

Association. 
William  R.  Corwine,  of  The  Merchants'  Association, 

and  Secretary  to  the  Committee. 
N.  Planter,  Official  Stenographer  of  The  Merchants' 
Association  and  of  the  Committee. 
The   Chamber  of   Commerce   having  likewise   accepted   the 
invitation  of  Governor  Sayers,  Mr.  Morris  K.  Jesup,  the  presi- 
dent of  that  organization,  appointed  a  committee  of  ten  to  repre- 
sent that  body.     The  following  gentlemen  were  of  the  visiting 
party: 


DELEGATES  OF  THE  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE. 


Charles  M.  Jesup,  Chairman ;  Vice-President  Securi- 
ties Company  of  New  York. 

W.  C.  Le  Gendre,  Secretary ;  Brown  Bros.  &  Co., 
Bankers. 

Edward  N.  Tailer,  Retired  Merchant  and  Capitalist. 

W.  N.  Coler,  Jr.,  Banker,  W.  N.  Coler  &  Co. 

H.  C.  Berlin,  Merchant;  Director  Knickerbocker  Trust 
Co.;  Director  Bowery  Savings  Bank. 

Major  T.  J.  Hurley,  Vice-President  The  Exploration 
Co. 

Richard  Deeves,  Richard  Deeves  &  Son,  Contractors 
and  Builders. 

C.  T.  CoLLiNGS,  Merchant,  Cincinnati,  O.,  Represent- 
ing the  Standard  Oil  Co. 

F.  B.  Thurber. 

Many  of  the  members  of  the  two  committees,  besides  repre- 
senting the  interests  set  opposite  their  names,  are  also  directors 


INTRODUCTORY.  7 

in    various    other    corporations,   with   important    and   widely 
diverse  business  and  investment  connections. 

Mr.  Jesup  and  Mr.  Corwine  co-operated  in  directing  the  de- 
tails of  the  proposed  trip,  and  through  the  officials  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  arranged  for  the  train  and  all  trans- 
portation details. 

A  finely  equipped  special  train,  consisting  of  four  compart- 
ment cars,  a  diner  and  a  combination  smoker  and  baggage-car, 
was  provided  for  the  continuous  use  of  the  committee  during 
the  entire  tour.  It  was  said  by  the  railway  officials  to  be  the 
handsomest  train  which  ever  went  from  New  York. 

The  train  was  in  the  personal  charge  of  Mr.  W.  W.  Lord, 
Jr.,  Assistant  General  Eastern  Passenger  Agent  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company,  who  was  appointed  to  look  after 
the  comfort  of  the  two  committees,  which  function  he  per- 
formed with  great  efficiency. 

The  start  was  made  from  Jersey  City  April  20  at  10.15  a.  m. 
The  train  ran  to  Philadelphia  as  a  section  of  the  Chicago  Limited, 
and  from  that  point  ran  as  a  special  via  the  Pennsylvania  Cen- 
tral Railroad  to  Washington;  thence  over  the  Southern  Rail- 
way to  Lynchburg;  over  the  Norfolk  &  Western  to  Bristol; 
over  the  Southern  Railway  to  Chattanooga;  over  the  Alabama 
Great  Northern  to  Meridian,  and  over  the  New  Orleans  North- 
eastern to  New  Orleans,  which  was  reached  Sunday,  April  21, 
at  9.40  p.  M.  The  actual  distance  traversed  from  Jersey  City 
to  New  Orleans  was  1,336  miles;  the  actual  running  time  was 
thirty-six  hours  and  twenty-four  minutes,  beating  all  previous 
records. 

At  New  Orleans  the  delegates  were  met  by  the  Texas  State 
Reception  Committee  and  escorted  to  the  St.  Charles  Hotel, 
where  they  remained  over  night. 

The  committee  had  been  previously  invited  by  Stuyvesant  Fish, 
Esq.,  the  president  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company,  to 
be  the  guests  of  that  company  in  New  Orleans,  and  to  inspect  the 
great  terminal  works  built  by  the  company  during  recent  years 
which  have  so  greatly  stimulated  grain  shipments  from  New 
Orleans.  , 

On  Monday  morning,  therefore,  the  railroad  officials,  after 


8  INTRODUCTORY. 

a  trolley  tour  to  give  the  visitors  a  view  of  the  city,  took  them 
on  a  trip  up  and  down  the  river  on  a  tug  to  inspect  the  long 
water  front,  the  miles  of  shipping  and  the  splendid  terminal 
facilities  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad.  Luncheon  was 
served  on  the  tug. 

At  9.30  o'clock  that  night,  Monday,  April  22,  the  train  left 
for  Texas  in  charge  of  the  Texas  State  Reception  Committee. 

The  committees  arrived  at  Orange,  on  the  border  of  Texas, 
at  7  o'clock  the  following  morning,  Tuesday,  April  23.  There 
they  were  met  by  the  local  committee  and  the  Hon.  R.  E.  Prince, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  who  represented  the 
Hon.  Joseph  D.  Sayers,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Texas,  and 
who  officially  welcomed  the  committees. 

From  Orange  the  committees  traveled  through  Texas,  stop- 
ping at  the  following  cities,  town  and  villages  in  the  order 
named: 

Beaumont,  Ballinger, 
The  Beaumont  Oil  Fields,        Wichita  Falls, 

Sabine  Pass,  Quanah, 

Houston,  Dallas, 

La  Porte,  Waxahachie, 

Galveston  Marlin, 

Sugar  Lands,  Calvert, 

San  Antonio,  Bryan, 

New  Braunfels,  College  Station, 

Austin,  Corsicana, 

Burnett,  Ennis, 

Marble  Falls,  Greenville, 

Llano,  Sulphur  Springs, 

Temple,  Texarkana, 

Waco,  Paris, 

Fort  Worth,  Sherman, 

Cleburne,  Denison, 

Brownwood,  Gainesville, 
San  Angelo, 

which  was  the  last  place  of  entertainment  in  the  State. 

From  Gainesville  the  committees  returned  to  Denison  and 
thence  started  homeward  over  the  Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas 


INTRODUCTORY.  9 

Railway.  The  train  left  Denison  Tuesday,  May  7,  at  11.00  p.  m. 
and  arrived  at  St.  Louis  at  6.10  p.  m.  the  following  night.  This 
also  was  a  record-breaking  run. 

The  officials  of  the  Missouri,  Kansas  and  Texas  road  took 
charge  of  the  train,  and,  under  orders  from  the  executive 
officers,  ran  it  as  a  special  from  Denison  to  St.  Louis,  free  of  all 
railway  charges,  showing  the  committees  every  possible  courtesy. 

At  St.  Louis  the  committees  were  met  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Lord, 
Jr.,  Assistant  General  Eastern  Passenger  Agent  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company,  who  had  left  the  train  at  New 
Orleans.    He  once  more  took  charge  of  the  committees. 

The  train  left  St.  Louis  at  6.35  o'clock  the  same  evening  over 
the  Vandalia  line  to  Indianapolis;  then  proceeded  over  the 
Pittsburg,  Chicago,  Cincinnati  &  St.  Louis  Railroad  to  Colum- 
bus; over  the  Cincinnati,  Akron  &  Columbus  and  Cleveland  & 
Pittsburg  Railroads,  to  Cleveland ;  over  the  Lake  Shore  &  Michi- 
gan Southern  to  Buffalo, where  it  arrived  at  5.25  p.  m.  The  com- 
mittees were  joined  at  that  city  by  Mr.  H.  C.  Parry,  the  Buffalo 
Passenger  Agent  of  the  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River 
Railroad  Company.  The  train  was  run  over  the  Belt  Line  to  the 
grounds  of  the  Pan-American  Exposition,  where  the  commit- 
tees were  given  an  opportunity  to  inspect  the  grounds,  and 
where  they  were  officially  received  by  the  Mayor  of  Buffalo 
and  the  officers  of  the  Exposition.  The  train  left  there  at  7.15 
p.  M.,  making  a  through  run  to  the  Grand  Central  Station,  arriv- 
ing there  at  7  o'clock  the  following  morning,  May  10. 

The  total  number  of  miles  traveled  on  this  trip  was  6,198,  of 
which  2,800  miles  were  within  the  State  of  Texas. 

During  the  whole  trip  there  was  not  an  accident  or  an  un- 
pleasant incident  of  any  kind. 

We  desire  to  express  our  thanks  to  Governor  Sayers  and  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas  for  having  invited  us,  to  The 
Merchants'  Association  for  having  appointed  us,  to  Mr.  Edwin 
Chamberlain,  chairman;  Mr.  S.  P.  Skinner,  vice-chairman;  Mr. 
Louis  J.  Wortham,  secretary,  and  all  the  members  of  the  Texas 
State  Reception  Committee;  to  the  Hon.  R.  E.  Prince,  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  the  State  of  Texas;  to  the 
press  of  the  State  and  its  representatives,  and  the  Associated 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

Press  and  its  representatives  who  accompanied  us  on  the  trip 
throughout  the  State ;  to  all  the  railroad  officials,  as  well  as  the 
officials  of  the  Western  Union  and  Postal  Telegraph  companies 
who  placed  the  use  of  their  wires  at  our  disposal  free  for  the 
purpose  of  sending  messages  to  our  homes  while  in  Texas;  to 
every  man,  woman  and  child  whom  we  met  in  Texas,  and,  in 
fact,  to  every  one  who  had  anything  to  do  with  the  trip  or  our 
reception,  directly  or  indirectly,  for  the  uniform  kindness  and 
courtesy  shown  us,  and  for  all  that  was  done  for  our  entertain- 
ment, comfort  and  happiness. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  put  into  words  the  courtesy  that 
was  shown  us  by  the  Texas  State  Reception  Committee,  by  the 
committees  which  had  been  organized  in  the  various  cities  and 
towns  that  we  visited  to  receive  and  care  for  us,  or  by  the  people 
themselves  who  helped  entertain  us  and  who  did  all  in  their 
power  to  make  our  visit  a  pleasant  one. 

If  we  were  to  recite,  or  even  attempt  to  summarize  this  cour- 
tesy, it  would  take  a  whole  volume,  and,  therefore,  we  must 
content  ourselves  with  making  a  general  expression  for  all. 

The  trip  will  ever  remain  in  our  memories  as  one  of  the 
pleasantest  incidents  of  our  lives,  in  which  we  formed  acquaint- 
ances that  ripened  into  friendship  that  we  hope  will  be  lasting — 
by  which  our  vision  was  broadened,  and  through  which  we  came 
to  a  better  understanding  of  the  conditions  existing  in  the  State 
of  Texas,  of  its  progressiveness  and  of  the  warm-hearted  hos- 
pitality of  its  people,  than  we  could  possibly  have  obtained  in 
any  other  way. 

The  chairman  of  the  committee  of  The  Merchants'  Asso- 
ciation appointed  several  sub-committees  for  the  purpose  of 
studying  the  subjects  assigned  to  them.  These  sub-committees 
were  made  up  as  follows: 

Committee  on  Law  and  Legal  Matters  Generally: 

James  B.  Dill,  Counsel  for  The  Merchants'  Association. 

Committee  on  Banking: 

Dick  S.  Ramsay,  Chairman ;  William  G.  Hoople,  Frank 
L.  Sheldon. 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

Committee  on  Transportation  and  Export  Facilities: 

William  R.  Corvvine,  Chairman ;  Henry  B.  Cosgrove, 
C.  M.  Wicker. 

Committee  on  Agricultural  Resources: 

S.   Cristy   Mead,   Chairman;    Manly   A.   Ruland,   Gus- 
TAV  A.  Jahn. 

Committee  on  Mineral  Resources: 

Frank  Nicholson,  Chairman ;  Thomas  Crimmins,  H.  A. 
Metz. 

Committee  on  Lumber: 

William  H.  Gratwick. 

Committee  on  Cotton  Piece  Goods  Manufacturing : 

John  H.  Pynes,  Chairman ;  C.  H.  Kavanaugh,  C.  T.  Root, 
G.  W.  Graham. 

Committee  on  General  Manufacturing: 

D.   Le   Roy   Dresser,   Chairman ;   W.   A.    Marble,   G.   C. 
Batcheller,  H.  Elmer  Gibb. 

Committee  on  Educational  Facilities: 

Rev.  Joseph  Newton  Hallock,  D.  D.,  Chairman;  Charles 
G.  Crawford,  H.  A.  Metz. 

Committee  on  Sanitary  and  Climatic  Conditions: 
Dr.  George  A.  Soper. 

Committee  on  Labor: 

C.  B,  Knox,  Chairman ;  George  C.  Potter. 

When  these  several  committees  were  formed  it  was  assumed 
that  ample  statistical  data  as  to  the  natural  resources  of  the 
State  and  their  present  development  and  all  other  economic 
conditions  would  be  readily  accessible  from  official  sources. 
The  proposed  function  of  the  committees  was,  therefore,  the 
careful  observation  of  established  conditions  of  fact,  with  a  view 
to  estimating  and  reporting  upon  their  probable  opportunities 
of  profitable  future  development. 

Much  to  the  disappointment  and  embarrassment  of  the  vari- 
ous committees  it  has  been  found  that  the  official  data  collated 
by  the  State  of  Texas  are  exceedingly  meager,  and  that  no 
comprehensive  view  of  the  actual  and  potential  economic  condi- 


12  INTRODUCTORY. 

tions  of  the  State  can  be  gathered  from  its  public  documents. 
The  State  government  seems  almost  blind  to  the  great  impor- 
tance of  public  reports  containing  accurate  and  complete  ex- 
hibits of  the  natural  resources  and  industrial  possibilities  of  the 
State. 

Such  reports  are  indispensable  to  promote  the  influx  of  im- 
migration and  outside  capital  essential  to  industrial  develop- 
ment, which  demand  reliable  information  as  a  prerequisite 
to  direct  their  movement.  There  is  a  notable  lack  of  such  infor- 
mation as  to  Texas,  and  in  all  probability  the  State  has 
been  much  prejudiced  thereby.  Instances  are  seen  in  its 
deficient  labor  supply,  due  in  part  to  the  absence  of  a  consid- 
erable immigration  from  European  countries,  and  to  the  dis- 
trustful attitude  of  outside  capital,  which  has  long  standing  but 
for  the  most  part  groundless  prejudices  against  investment  in 
Texas,  based  upon  misconception  and  dense  ignorance  of  actual 
conditions. 

It  is  manifestly  impossible,  no  matter  how  great  the  industrv 
and  skill  applied,  to  collate  and  digest  during  a  rapid  tour  of  sev- 
eral thousand  miles  within  a  period  of  two  weeks,  the  vast  body 
of  basic  data  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  the  committees.  By 
reason  of  the  paucity  and  irrelevance  of  the  public  reports  of 
the  State  the  dil^cult  task  of  gathering  the  required  data  from 
other  and  detached  sources  was  imposed  upon  the  committees. 
This  was  of  necessity  largely  effected  by  correspondence  and 
through  the  hearty  co-operation  of  numerous  gentlemen  resid- 
ing in  various  parts  of  the  State,  particularly  railroad  officials, 
who  have  done  much  to  fill  the  gaps  left  by  the  defective  public 
reports.  Through  these  unofficial  channels  has  been  gathered 
a  body  of  material,  ample  as  to  most  subjects,  for  the  purposes 
of  the  committee.  It  comprises  numerous  monographs,  pub- 
lished by  various  associations,  institutions  and  individuals,  sup- 
plemented by  much  valuable  unpublished  data,  collated  for  the 
committee  by  Texas  specialists,  qualified  by  thorough  personal 
knowledge  of  the  conditions,  to  present  them  faithfully  and 
fully. 

In  some  branches  of  inquiry  satisfactory  data  are  unob- 
tainable, no  scientific  collation  of  the  necessary  statistics  having 
hitherto  been  made.     In  these  cases  our  report  reflects  only 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

general  conditions.  It  is  believed,  however,  that  despite  these 
inevitable  omissions,  the  following  pages  afiford  a  much  more 
comprehensive  and  well-rounded  exhibit  of  the  economic 
development  and  possibilities  of  Texas  than  can  elsewhere  be 
found  in  accessible  form. 

It  is  the  sense  of  the  committee  that  the  State  of  Texas 
would  be  greatly  benefited  by  comprehensive  public  reports  that 
would  fully  exhibit  its  economic,  financial  and  industrial  condi- 
tions by  the  approved  methods  of  statistical  science. 

Creditable  exceptions  to  the  general  defectiveness  of  Texas 
public  reports  are  those  of  the  State  Geological  Survey  and  of 
the  State  Railroad  Commission.  The  latter  are  among  the 
most  thorough,  useful  and  intelligent  pubHshed  by  any  public 
authority  anywhere  in  the  United  States.  The  geological  re- 
ports are  of  great  merit,  but  as  yet  they  cover  but  a  very  small 
part  of  the  State.  By  far  the  most  comprehensive  data  accessi- 
ble are  suppHed  by  the  various  departmental  publications  of  the 
United  States  Government,  especially  those  of  the  Geological 
Survey,  the  Census  Bureau  and  the  Department  of  Agriculture. 

Much  valuable  information  not  elsewhere  obtainable  has 
been  drawn  from  the  Document  Division  of  the  Library  of  Con- 
gress, and  many  thanks  are  due  to  Roland  P.  Falkner,  Esq., 
chief  of  that  division,  for  his  courteous  and  valuable  assistance, 
which  enabled  the  committee  to  consult  a  large  body  of  useful 
data,  as  well  as  to  Frederick  B.  De  Berard,  Esq.,  of  The  Mer- 
chants' Association,  who  went  to  Washington  and  compiled  the 
data  and  who  has  rendered  valuable  assistance  in  the  preparation 
of  the  report,  co-operating  heartily  with  the  sub-committees,  more 
particularly  those  on  agriculture  and  railroads. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Alvah  Trowbridge, 

Chairman. 
William  R.  Corwine, 

Secretary. 
For  iJie  Committee. 
New  York.  Nov.  1,  1901. 


WATER  SUPPLIES  OF  TEXAS, 


FROM  a  geographical  standpoint  the  State  of  Texas  may  be 
considered  as  a  great  area  of  country  arranged  in  a  series 
of  broad,  irregular  steps,  which  slope  from  the  Cordilleras  in  a 
southeasterly  direction  toward  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  the  cen- 
ter of  the  State,  and  in  the  extreme  west,  the  comparative  uni- 
formity of  the  incline  is  broken  by  small  mountains.  The 
highest  step  is  the  territory  of  the  Great  Plains.  It  extends 
from  the  Panhandle  south  to  near  the  latitude  of  Del  Rio,  and 
is  bordered  on  the  east  by  the  gypsum  and  red  lands  of  Central 
Texas.  The  red  lands  form  the  second  step,  and  the  third  com- 
prises the  black  prairies  in  the  east  center  part  of  the  State. 
Finally  we  have  the  low  coast  and  flat  land  bordering  on  the 
eastern  boundary  for  the  lowest  step  in  the  series. 

RIVER  SYSTEMS. 

THERE  are  no  mountains  within  the  State  which  give  rise 
to  important  river  systems.  The  Pecos,  Canadian  and 
Rio  Grande  take  their  rise  in  the  Rocky  Mountains  outside  of 
the  boundaries  of  Texas  and  derive  no  important  part  of  their 
volume  from  this  country.  The  drainage  of  the  State  is  carried 
off  by  streams  which  rise  on  the  edge,  or  south  or  east,  of  the 
Great  Plains.  The  Plains  themselves  have  no  true  rivers.  The 
Canadian  River  flows  through  a  deep  valley  far  below  the  level 
of  the  country  which  it  traverses,  and  consists  for  the  most  part 
of  little  more  than  a  strip  of  wet  sand.  The  Pecos  flows  be- 
tween high  banks  for  nearly  the  whole  of  its  journey  through 
Texas.  The  Rio  Grande  from  El  Paso  to  Del  Rio  flows  in  deep 
canyons,  after  which  it  opens  into  a  broad  and  shallow  valley, 
which  gradually  flattens  out  as  the  river  approaches  the  coast. 
About  100  miles  of  its  1,500  miles  of  length  are  navigable. 


16  WATER  SUPPLIES. 

The  water  which  falls  upon  the  plains  is  quickly  absorbed  or 
evaporated.  Occasionally  shallow  draws  carry  off  the  excess  of 
water  which  falls  in  the  form  of  rain,  but  for  the  most  part  these 
channels  are  dry  and  of  no  service  as  sources  of  water  supply. 
They  form  the  headwaters  of  such  streams  as  the  Llano,  Guada- 
lupe, Frio,  Nueces  and  Devil  rivers. 

But  if  the  plains  do  not  possess  important  watercourses 
their  steep  eastern  slopes  give  rise  to  springs  which  form  the 
beginnings  of  the  longest  and  most  important  rivers  within  the 
State.  The  rivers  which  rise  at  the  edge  of  the  plains  soon  sink 
deep  into  the  ground  and  flow  through  canyons.  Little  drain- 
age comes  to  them  at  first  as  they  proceed  to  the  sea,  but  their 
valleys  gradually  broaden  until  their  alluvial  bottoms  are 
famous  for  their  fertility.  Among  such  rivers  may  be  men- 
tioned the  Wichita,  Red,  Brazos  and  Colorado  and  their  numer- 
ous tributaries. 

Drainage  in  East  Central  Texas  is  carried  on  by  a  network 
of  river  systems.  Part  of  the  time  the  smallest  of  these  rivers  are 
nearly  or  quite  dry,  but  during  storms  they  carry  large  quantities 
of  the  rain  water  which  falls  upon  the  surrounding  prairies. 

The  eastern  part  of  the  State  is  drained  by  the  Sabine,  Sul- 
phur, Neches,  Angelina  and  many  small,  sluggish  creeks  and 
bayous.  West  of  the  Colorado  several  small  rivers  issue  from 
huge  springs.  Among  these  are  the  San  Marcos,  San  Antonio. 
San  Gabriel  and  Comal  rivers. 

Few  of  the  rivers  of  Texas  have  been  gauged,  and  there  has 
been  little  or  no  development  of  the  streams  for  power  purposes. 


RAINFALL. 

THE  water  supplies  of  the  State,  including  the  water  car- 
ried by  the  rivers,  are  derived  from  rainfall.  In  North- 
ern Texas  the  rainfall  is  distributed  in  accordance  with  what  is 
known  as  the  plains  type.  Characteristics  of  the  plains  type  are 
a  scant  precipitation  in  the  winter  months  and  showers,  with 
thunder  and  lightning,  in  summer.  West  of  the  101st  meridian 
the  rainfall  is  precarious  and  generally  insufficient  for  the  ma- 
turity of  crops. 


k' 


HART  II.— PRE( 


'  11.— PRECIPITATION  IN  THE  TEXAS 


WATER  SUPPLIES.  17 

On  the  coast  the  annual  average  of  rainfall  is  abundant,  but 
its  distribution  is  not  always  as  reliable  as  could  be  desired. 
The  greatest  irregularity  occurs  in  September  and  October. 
The  heaviest  rainfall  takes  place  in  June,  August  and  Septem- 
ber. In  the  eastern  part  of  Texas  a  fall  of  from  50  to  60  inches 
of  rain  is  the  usual  average.  Proceeding  westward,  the  annual 
average  falls  oflf  at  the  rate  of  about  four  inches  per  sixty  miles 
until  it  reaches  nine  inches  in  the  extreme  corner  of  the  Pan- 
handle. 

The  amount  of  water  which  is  available  from  the  rainfall  for 
purposes  of  water  supply  depends  upon  a  large  number  of  con- 
ditions. The  percentage  of  run-off  varies  with  the  porosity  of 
the  soil,  the  slope  and  character  of  the  ground,  the  length  and 
severity  of  the  storm  and  the  state  of  vegetation.  The  limits 
are  so  widely  separated  and  the  problem  so  involved  that  broad 
generalizations  are  practically  impossible  for  the  great  territory 
under  consideration. 

In  the  sandy,  forest-covered  country  of  the  Cross  Timbers 
the  run-ofif  is  very  small;  practically  all  of  the  30  inches  or  more 
of  rain  which  falls  annually  is  absorbed.  Part  of  this  water 
sinks  deep  into  the  earth  and  finally  escapes  in  springs  and  deep 
wells  at  great  distances  from  the  points  where  the  rain  fell. 

In  the  "Black  Waxy"  district  the  abundance  of  clay  in  the  soil 
prevents  the  water  from  percolating  rapidly,  and  the  percentage 
of  water  which  runs  ofif  to  the  streams  during  rainstorms  is  con- 
siderable. 

In  the  southeast  the  land  is  low  and  flat  and  the  drainage  poor. 
Where  the  land  is  elevated  and  the  soil  is  sandy,  the  larger  part  of 
the  rainfall  is  absorbed;  the  precipitation  here  exceeds  50  inches 
and  gives  rise  to  an  abundant  growth  of  forest  trees. 

The  red  land  country  has  soils  which  vary  from  loamy  to 
sandy.  To  the  east  and  south  the  country  is  rugged  and  the 
proportion  of  the  25  inches  of  rainfall  which  runs  ofif  is  irregular. 

On  the  Staked  Plains  practically  all  of  the  15  inches  of  rain- 
fall is  absorbed  by  the  soil. 

On  the  Trans-Pecos  Mountains  the  run-ofif  is  high. 


18  WATER  SUPPLIES. 

EVAPORATION. 

AS  to  evaporation,  it  may  be  said  that  west  of  the  black  prairie 
country  the  evaporation  exceeds  the  rainfall.  In  the  Great 
Plains,  where  the  precipitation  is  20  inches,  the  evaporation  is 
60  inches. 

QUALITY  OF  THE  RIVER  WATERS. 

AS  sources  of  drinking  water  the  streams  which  agree  with 
the  principal  type  of  Texas  rivers  are  not  wholly  satisfac- 
tory. For  most  of  their  length  the  rivers  carry  silt  and  other 
suspended  impurities,  which  render  purification  by  subsidence 
and  filtration  desirable.  Of  the  large  number  of  rivers  which  take 
their  rise  in  springs  many  descend  rapidly  to  deep  beds  from 
which  the  water  would  have  to  be  pumped  at  great  expense. 
In  the  agricultural  country  the  minor  streams  are  generally 
highly  colored  with  the  soil  through  which  they  flow ;  and  these 
smaller  watercourses,  acting  as  tributaries  to  large  rivers,  carry 
their  unpleasant  hue  to  a  great  distance.  Even  the  clearest  rivers 
at  times  becomes  very  turbid.  It  is  said  that  at  Austin  freshets 
of  the  Colorado  River  are  termed  white  rises,  red  rises  and  black 
rises,  according  as  to  whether  the  rainfall  which  caused  the  rise 
occurred  in  the  white,  red  or  black  land  drainage  area  of  that 
stream.  On  the  coast,  and  generally  in  South  and  East  Texas, 
the  rivers  are  alluvial. 

Cities  which  draw  upon  rivers  for  the  whole  or  part  of  their 
public  water  supplies  are  Cameron,  Cuero,  Greenville,  Fort 
Worth,  Victoria  and  El  Paso.  There  are  no  municipal  water 
filters  in  successful  use. 

IMPOUNDED  WATER. 

BUT  if  few  of  the  cities  of  Texas  can  rely  upon  river  water  as 
a  satisfactory  source  of  supply,  there  are  fewer  yet  which 
can  take  their  water  from  natural  ponds  or  lakes.  In  fact,  lakes 
are  not  numerous,  and  those  which  exist  are  often  saline.  Im- 
pounded water  collected  from  drainage  areas  into  tanks  is  not 
generally  used  for  drinking  purposes.  The  city  of  Abilene  uses 
a  supply  of  impounded  water. 


r 


WATER  SUPPLIES.  19 

UNDERGROUND  SUPPLIES. 

TEXAS  is  particularly  fortunate  in  having  many  excellent 
sources  of  water  supply  under  ground.  The  porous  soils 
found  occasionally  in  certain  portions  of  the  State  act  as  cache- 
ment  areas  which  collect  the  water  which  falls  in  the  form  of 
rain  and  snow.  The  water  so  collected  accumulates  in  great 
underground  reservoirs  of  gravel  and  sand,  underlaid  with  hard 
pan,  which  extend  for  long  distances  in  nearly  a  horizontal  direc- 
tion. Where  the  surface  of  the  land  rapidly  slopes  down  to  the 
level  of  the  water  in  these  natural  reservoirs,  springs  make  their 
appearance.  Perhaps  the  most  notable  area  wherein  such  springs 
and  free-flowing  wells  occur  is  along  the  great  geological  fault 
which  runs  from  the  neighborhood  of  San  Antonio  in  a  north- 
easterly curve  through  the  rich  agricultural  country  of  the  black 
prairies.  In  the  line  of  this  fault  there  is  an  abundance  of  under- 
ground water  of  a  quality  which  makes  it  excellent  for  all  pur- 
poses. Remarkable  instances  of  the  copiousness  of  this  source  of 
supply  are  found  at  New  Braunfels  and  San  Antonio  and  in  the 
country  between  Corsicana  and  Brownwood. 

Along  the  coast  there  are  many  points  at  which  deep  wells  have 
been  successful,  those  furnishing  the  public  water  supplies  of 
Houston,  Galveston,  Velasco  and  Corpus  Christi  being  excellent 
examples. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  State  artesian  water  is  not  so  readily 
obtained,  nor  is  it  so  much  needed.  Wells,  giving  moderate  flows, 
are  reported  from  Robertson,  Limestone  and  Polk  counties. 

In  the  region  of  the  Staked  Plains  there  is  said  to  be  an 
abundance  of  water  but  a  short  distance  below  the  surface  of 
the  ground.  Shallow  wells,  operated  by  windmills,  have  been 
employed  successfully  in  several  parts  of  the  Staked  Plains,  and 
it  has  been  thought  by  some  that  the  prospects  for  agriculture 
in  that  neighborhood  only  depend  upon  the  possibility  of  irri- 
gating extensively  with  water  obtained  in  this  way. 

IRRIGATION. 

SUCCESSFUL  irrigation  works  have  been  operated  in  Texas 
since  the  earliest  history  of  the  State.    In  the  neighborhood 
of  San  Antonio  there  still  remain  ditches  constructed  between 


20 


WATER  SUPPLIES. 


COMPARISON  OF  CAPACITY  AND  COST  OF  VARI 


Combined  water  power  and  irrigation. 

With  reservoir. 

Approximate. 

Operating  cost.  $7  a  day  of  twelve  hours. 

Can  water  five  acres  per  day. 


PLACE. 

SYSTEM. 

PUMP. 

Orange 

50  horse-power  engine. 

8-foot  windmill. 

12-foot  windmill,  a. 

Dam  and  ditch. 

80  horse-power  b. 
32  horse-power  engine,  d. 

Turbine. 

20  horse-power  engine,  <?. 

30  horse-power  engine,  /. 

18  horse-power  engine. 

Water  wheel. 

Ditch. 

Ditch,  ^. 

Artesian  Well. 

40  horse-power  boiler,  /i. 

10  horse-power  boiler,  /. 

21^  horse-power  gasoline. 

5^4  horse-power  gasoline. 

100  horse-power  boiler,  j. 

40  horse-power  boiler. 

Dam  and  ditches. 

80  horse-power  boiler. 

Windmill. 

12-foot  windmill,  b. 

25  horse-power  engine. 

50  horse-power  boiler. 

100  horse-power  boiler. 

14-foot  windmill. 

3  windmills. 

8-foot  windmill,  b. 

Dam  and  ditch. 

Menge. 

Mexia 

Abilene    

Ballinger 

San  Angelo 

North  Concho 

Sterling  City 

Brownwood 

Goldthwaite 

Rattler 

Centrifugal. 
Worthington. 

Regency  

San  Saba 

Menard  County 

San  Marcos 

Menge. 

San  Antonio 

i< 

Floresville 

Blakeslee. 

Blake. 

Cuero  .                  ... 

Beeville    

Mathis 

Menge. 
Double. 

Del  Rio 

Laredo 

Pulsometer. 

<. 

Hidalgo 

Centrifugal. 

Menge. 
Centrifugal. 

Brownsville    

Hale  County. 

Crosby  County  

Pecos 

Grand  Falls  .         .... 

El  Paso 

1 

WATER  SUPPLIES. 


21 


OUS  SYSTEMS  OF  IRRIGATION  WORK  IN    TEXAS. 


/.  Operating  cost,  $3  per  day  of  eleven  hours. 

g.  Water  rights  held  at  $15. 

A.  Costs  12Kc.  per  hour  to  operate. 

i.  Pumps  into  reservoir. 

j.  Operating  expenses,  $4.25  per  day. 


LIFT. 
In  Feet. 

CAPACITY. 
Second-Feet. 

ACREAGE. 

COST. 

Irrigable. 

Irrigated. 

Total. 

PerAcre. 

Annual 
PerAcre. 

8 

11.14 

500 

7 

|1,500  00 
300  00 
485.00 

25,000.00 
200.00 

$3.00 
43.00 
16.00 

25 

15 

30 

800 

50 

10 
470 
250 

75 

20.00 

7.00 

14.00 

20.00 

%  -75 

350 
250 
400 

80 

3,500.00 
1,500.00 

6.84 

2  72 

"!ii 

1.00 

1.87 

2.60 

.20 

.32 

75 
5 

2,000  00 

27.00 

^6.00 

75 

40 

100 

3 

12 
100 
400 
250 
100 

2,000.00 
1,500.00 

50.00 
15.00 

600 
1,500 
1,000 

400 

2  00 

30.00 

2.32 

1.67 

.20 

.07 

.05 

14.00 

.29 

18,000.00 

3,000.00 

2,500.00 

295.00 

450.00 

15.00 

2.50 

50 

48 

^4.00 

10 

48 

20 
600 
140 

48 
39 

70 

70 

3,600 

50 

3 

5 

100 

200 

200 

18 

\]i 

6,000 
600 

5,000.00 

3,000.00 

25,000.00 

1.00 

.50 

65 

1.11 

125 

220.00 
425.00 

30 

10.58 
20.00 

17.82 

18 

2,000.00 

22 

300 

10 

306.66 

505.00 

222  00 

150,000.00 

35,000.00 

50 

25 

124 

40.000 
20,000 

10  00 

500 

15.00 

1.50 

.50 

1.25 

30,000 

3,000     1 

220,000.00 

2.00 

22  WATER  SUPPLIES. 

1716  and  1744  by  the  Spanish  missionaries,  who  first  settled  in 
those  parts.  As  is  well  known,  the  necessity  for  irrigation  does 
not  depend  alone  upon  rainfall,  but  has  equal  reference  to  the 
properties  of  the  soils  and  the  character  of  the  crops  to  be  culti- 
vated. In  Texas  the  greater  part  of  the  irrigation  works  are 
not  in  the  arid  or  semi-arid  country,  but  in  the  southern  half  of 
the  State  or  near  the  coast,  where  soil  and  rainfall  might  be 
expected  to  favor  agriculture.  In  most  cases  irrigation  is  prac- 
ticed because  of  eccentricities  or  a  normal  deficiency  of  rainfall. 

Irrigation  in  Southeast  Texas  is  important  by  reason  of  the 
favorable  location  of  the  land  for  rice  growing.  In  the  cultiva- 
tion of  rice  the  water  is  pumped  from  bayous  directly  upon 
fields  which  are  diked,  to  hold  the  water  and  ditched  to  drain 
them  properly.  The  pumps  are  operated  by  steam  and  run  con- 
tinuously for  two  or  three  months  at  a  time. 

Near  Galveston  deep  wells  are  sometimes  pumped  by  windmill 
power  for  the  benefit  of  orchards  and  gardens.  Here  the  rainfall 
is  somewhat  uncertain  during  the  growing  season,  and  the  readi- 
ness with  which  underground  water  can  be  obtained  induces  the 
farmers  to  adopt  this  cheap  manner  of  insuring  the  maturity  of 
their  crops. 

Near  Wichita  Falls,  in  North  Central  Texas,  an  extensive 
project  for  irrigating  a  large  tract  of  land  is  under  way.  A  reser- 
voir to  hold  twelve  thousand  million  cubic  feet  of  impounded 
water  has  been  formed  and  the  water  will  be  distributed  upon  land 
which  has  been  unsuitable  for  agriculture  by  reason  of  droughts. 

In  the  Concho  Country  a  small  number  of  irrigation  works 
have  been  built  by  private  persons  for  the  benefit  of  stock  and 
agriculture.  At  Menardville,  in  Menard  County,  is  a  plant 
which  is  said  to  give  excellent  satisfaction,  the  water  being 
pumped  from  the  San  Saba  River  and  used  for  general  agricul- 
ture. Irrigation  is  practiced  at  San  Marcos  with  water  raised 
from  ditches  by  wheels  operated  by  the  currents  of  the  streams. 
In  the  country  about  San  Antonio  are  many  small  irrigation 
works  in  which  a  few  hundred  acres  of  corn  and  cotton  are 
cultivated  and  truck  vegetables  grown  for  the  city  market;  the 
water  is  obtained  from  wells  or  by  ditches  leading  from  springs 
near  by.  At  Cuero  is  located  an  irrigation  plant  designed  to 
distribute   the   water   of   the    Guadalupe   River   to   some   4,000 


WATER  SUPPLIES.  23 

acres  of  land.  For  this  purpose  the  stream  has  been  closed  by 
a  permanent  stone  and  concrete  dam.  Land  on  the  Nueces 
River  has  been  irrigated  with  water  taken  from  that  stream 
and  from  artesian  wells,  the  total  area  under  cultivation  being 
about  1,000  acres.  There  are  a  few  irrigation  works  along  the 
Rio  Grande,  notably  those  near  Del  Rio,  Eagle  Pass,  Laredo, 
Hidalgo  and  Brownsville.  The  region  of  the  Staked  Plains  is 
said  to  be  supplied  with  water,  which  may  be  obtained  from 
wells  from  forty  to  200  feet  deep.  Examples  are  found  in  Hale, 
Crosby  and  Midland  Countries.  Windmills  are  used  to  pump 
the  water,  which  is  then  allowed  to  flow  into  tanks.  The  tanks 
are,  in  reality,  storage  reservoirs  made  by  raising  a  low  em- 
bankment upon  a  suitable  location  and  puddling  the  inside. 
Tanks  are  common  in  many  parts  of  the  cattle  country  of  Texas, 
where  they  furnish  a  large  part  of  the  water  used  by  stock.  The 
water  of  the  Pecos  River  is  used  to  irrigate  about  6,000  acres  of 
land,  divided  into  small  lots  under  different  management. 
About  8,000  acres  are  irrigated  in  the  Trans-Pecos  country  near 
El  Paso. 

In  an  accompanying  table  will  be  found  a  list  of  irrigation 
works  in  Texas.  The  quantity  of  water  required  for  irriga- 
tion varies  greatly  and  it  is  difihcult  to  make  an  estimate  of  the 
cost  of  irrigating.  The  size  of  the  works,  the  height  of  lift,  the 
kind  of  pump  and  price  of  fuel  also  serve  to  destrpy  the  value  of 
a  general  figure.  It  is  stated,  however,  that  an  average  acre 
of  land  in  Texas  will  require  43,560  cubic  feet  of  water  for  a 
crop.  The  cost  of  water  rights  has  been  given  as  |15  per  acre. 
The  cost  of  maintenance  is  from  fl.50  to  |2  per  acre,  exclud- 
ing attendance.    These  figures  appear  to  be  too  low. 

As  in  California,  Washington  and  Oregon,  the  law  of  Texas 
permits  unappropriated  waters,  in  those  parts  of  the  State  in 
which  irrigation  is  necessary  through  insufficiency  of  rainfall, 
to  be  appropriated  by  private  persons  or  corporations  for  irri- 
gation, mining,  milling,  the  construction  of  water  works  for 
towns  and  cities  and  for  stock  raising. 


24 


WATER  SUPPLIES. 


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WATER  SUPPLIES.  25 

IN  the  preparation  of  the  foregoing  remarks  upon  the  water 
supplies  of  Texas  much  useful  information  has  been  found 
in  the  official  publications  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture,  especially  in  bulletins  of  the  Weather  Bureau;  the 
Department  of  the  Interior,  through  the  Geological  Survey, 
has  furnished  many  important  sources  of  data.  It  is  a  pleasure 
to  record  my  obligations  to  the  work  of  F.  H.  Newell,  Robert 
T.  Hill,  William  F.  Hutson,  Dr.  I.  M.  Cline  and  Joseph  L. 
Cline,  of  the  Government  Service. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

George  A.  Soper,  Ph.D. 

29  Broadway,  New  York. 
Committee  on  Sanitary  and  Climatic  Conditions. 
October  22,  1901. 


TYPICAL  CURVES  OF  PRECIPITATION'. 

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TYPICAL  cur\t:s  of  precipitation. 


/i^      ^      ^^'     ^'^     ^«^'* 


TYPICAL  CURVES  OF  PRECIPITATION. 


Jan.^       FA.         Mar.  Jpr        M^  Jun.        JxJy        Aug  Sep.  Oct  V<ff        Dea 


iSANTg 


u— O 


THE  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS   AND 
RESOURCES  OF  TEXAS. 


I. 

DIVERSITY  OF  NATURAL  PRODUCTS. 

THE  State  of  Texas  comprehends  a  greater  range  of  climatic 
and  geologic  conditions  than  can  be  found  in  any  other 
State  or  group  of  States  of  equal  area. 

This  diversity  is  due  in  part  to  its  immense  territorial  ex- 
panse, and  in  part  to  specific  geographical  features  from  which 
result  conditions  of  climate  and  soil  peculiar  to  the  State.  The 
unusual  variety  of  natural  conditions  is  favorable  to  correspond- 
ing diversity  of  natural  products,  and  exceptional  productivity 
in  specific  classes  results  from  the  peculiar  conditions  noted. 
Texas  is  the  only  State  where  temperature,  humidity  and  soil 
are  equally  suited  to  the  distinctively  Southern  crops  in  con- 
junction with  all  the  grains,  fruits  and  forage  plants  of  the  more 
Northern  States,  and  likewise  to  the  prolific  breeding  of  all 
kinds  of  farm  animals. 


II. 
GENERAL  PHYSICAL  AND  CLIMATIC  CHARACTERISTICS. 

IT  is  obvious,  however,  that  the  conditions  noted  above  cannot 
prevail  uniformly  throughout  a  territory  so  vast  as  that  of 
Texas,  whose  area  exceeds  that  of  all  New  England,  together 
with  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana,  New  Jersey  and 
Delaware,  and  whose  greatest  extension  is  greater  than  the  dis- 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  31 

tance  from  Chicago  to  the  sea.  In  effect  the  State  may  be 
divided  into  three  cHmatic  zones,  trending  in  an  approximately 
north  and  south  direction,  and  each  having  distinct  characteris- 
tics, due  to  marked  and  permanent  differences  in  the  degrees  of 
humidity.  These  may  be  appropriately  called  the  Agricultural 
and  Timber  Zone,  the  Pastoral  Zone  and  the  Arid  Zone. 

The  first  of  these  is  of  exceptional  fertility  and  capacity  to 
produce  a  great  variety  of  crops,  and  has  an  abundance  of 
useful  timber  of  many  varieties.  The  second  zone  is  one  of 
the  finest  pastoral  regions  in  the  world,  but  not  so  generally 
adapted  for  agriculture,  except  in  limited  areas  here  and  there 
throughout  its  expanse.  The  third  or  arid  zone  is,  as  its  title  im- 
plies, almost  rainless  and  treeless.  It  has  great  mineral  riches, 
but  it  has  little  value  for  agricultural  purposes,  unless  artificial 
irrigation  is  resorted  to  to  supply  the  requisite  moisture. 
Under  irrigation  the  soil  responds  with  marvelous  fertility. 

The  area  of  the  State  of  Texas  is  265,780  square  miles.  The 
distance  between  its  southernmost  and  northernmost  limits  is 
740  miles;  its  extreme  breadth  east  and  west  is  825  miles;  its 
coast  line  upon  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  is  400  miles. 

The  coast  line  is  approximately  a  quarter  circle,  described 
from  east  to  south.  It  is  bordered  by  a  concentric  coastal  plam 
from  100  to  250  miles  wide,  with  a  gentle  slope  from  northwest 
to  southeast,  and  a  maximum  altitude  of  about  500  feet.  The 
immediate  coast  strip  is  newly  deposited  marsh  land,  bordered 
by  forests  east  of  the  Colorado  and  by  plains  to  the  west  and 
south  of  that  river. 

Adjoining  the  coastal  plain  is  a  roughly  concentric  zone, 
known  as  the  "black  prairie  region,"  which  describes  an  arc 
across  the  entire  State  from  the  Sabine  and  Red  rivers  in  the 
northeast  to  the  Rio  Grande  in  the  southwest.  It  is  the  product 
of  erosion,  the  rich,  black  soil  being  fine  detritus  brought  down 
by  the  rivers  from  the  uplands  and  deposited  as  sediment  in 
times  of  flood.  Its  outer  limit  is  sharply  defined,  beginning  at 
Denison  on  the  Red  River  and  passing  near  or  through  Sher- 
man, Dallas,  Waco,  Austin  and  San  Antonio,  and  thence  west- 
ward to  Eagle  Pass  on  the  Rio  Grande.  Its  altitude  is  from 
300  to  700  feet,  its  surface  being  disposed  in  the  long,  gentle 
undulations  characteristic  of  prairie  regions. 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  33 

Beyond  the  narrow  black  prairie  zone  extends  the  broad  cen- 
tral region,  a  vast  upland,  once  a  table  land,  but  now  of  greatly 
diversified  surface,  due  to  extensive  erosion  and  the  protrusion 
of  non-eroded  strata  in  the  form  of  "dykes,"  buttes  and  rocky 
ridges.  In  the  older  river  basins  are  rich  alluvial  prairies,  in 
some  cases  50  miles  in  width,  bounded  by  fertile  ridges  partially 
covered  with  sparse  forests.  In  other  portions  the  geologic 
formation  is  unfavorable  to  plant  life,  the  soil  is  arid  and  the 
vegetation  scanty.  In  the  middle  part  of  this  region  is  a  rough 
semi-mountainous  area,  rich  in  minerals  but  destitute  of  fertility. 
The  southwestern  portion  is  a  great  rolling  plain,  wholly  with- 
out streams,  and  therefore  arid  and  incapable  of  sustaining 
either  animal  or  vegetable  life  to  any  material  degree.  The  sur- 
face of  the  central  region  is  from  700  to  2,500  feet  above  sea 
level.  Its  northwestern  boundary  is  marked  by  a  precipitous 
escarpment  or  "fault,"  which  forms  a  sheer  cliflf  from  200  to  500 
feet  in  height  and  several  hundred  miles  long. 

This  great  escarpment  borders  the  "Llano  Estacado,"  or 
Staked  Plain,  which  fills  the  northwestern  part  of  the  State.  It 
is  the  southernmost  extension  of  the  "great  plains"  which  bor- 
der the  eastern  slope  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  range  throughout 
its  whole  extent.  The  surface  of  the  Staked  Plain  is  smooth  and 
wholly  devoid  of  streams  and  forest  growth.  It  is,  however, 
capable  of  irrigation  by  means  of  wells  and  artificial  reservoirs, 
and  naturally  produces  a  good  growth  of  grass. 

The  Trans-Pecos  region  lies  to  the  southwest  of  the  Pecos 
River,  between  that  river  and  the  Rio  Grande.  It  is  a  succes- 
sion of  mountain  ranges,  with  wide  intervening  valleys,  poorly 
watered  and  generally  barren.  It  has  very  little  capability  for 
agriculture. 

These  several  zones  are  co-terminous  with  distinctive  geologi- 
cal formations,  which  form  a  series  of  shelves  or  "benches" 
descending  in  successive  steps  from  the  elevation  of  the  great 
plains  and  the  Trans-Pecos  mountain  ranges  to  the  coastal  plain 
and  the  sea  level.  The  limits  of  each  zone  were  originally 
marked  by  sharp  escarpments  or  cliffs,  falling  on  the  margin 
nearest  the  Gulf  to  a  lower  level. 

Across  these  successive  benches  and  over  these  escarpments 
several  great  rivers  have  plowed  their  way  in  nearly  parallel 


34  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

courses  from  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  in  the  northwest, 
southeastward  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  their  upper  courses 
they  are  in  the  nature  of  torrents,  being  dry  for  long  periods  and 
subject  to  sudden  and  extreme  temporary  freshets,  whose  great 
erosive  action  has  carved  deep  canyons  through  the  higher  levels. 
The  annual  rainfall  of  these  elevated  regions  is  very  small  and 
concentrated  within  a  brief  period  of  time,  alternating  with  long 
rainless  periods,  and  therefore  they  are  extremely  arid  and 
almost  barren  of  plant  life.  The  brief  and  infrequent  torrential 
rains  in  consequence  drain  into  the  watercourses  with  great 
rapidity  and  descend  into  the  lower  valleys  as  torrents,  heavily 
burdened  with  eroded  soil,  held  in  suspension  and  deposited  as 
sediment  upon  the  levels  of  the  lower  zones,  where  the  rivers 
overflow  their  banks  and  cover  the  bottoms. 

In  the  lower  zones  the  rivers  are  more  numerous,  and 
although  shorter  are  more  constant  in  their  flow  and  carry  a 
larger  annual  volume  of  water  than  those  rising  in  the  higher 
zones.  This  difference  is  due  to  the  greater  humidity  and  more 
evenly  distributed  rainfall  of  the  lower  zones.  In  these  zones, 
therefore,  are  found  the  combination  of  the  exceptional  condi- 
tions which  make  Texas  pre-eminent  in  fertility  and  in  variety  of 
agricultural  products — namely,  a  rich  alluvial  soil,  abundant 
and  constant  humidity,  and  temperature  whose  variations  are 
not  extreme  and  whose  mean  is  genial,  equable  and  prevalent 
during  a  long  period. 

It  is  shown  by  the  foregoing  outline  that  while  the  eastern 
and  central  regions  of  Texas  are  extremely  fertile  and  of  very 
unusual  agricultural  capabilities,  the  favorable  conditions 
steadily  decrease  with  the  increase  of  westerly  longitude,  and 
finally  disappear  entirely  in  a  region  characterized  by  tropical 
heat,  aridity  and  barrenness. 

This  remarkable  difference  in  climatic  and  physical  condi- 
tions is  caused  by  the  mountain  ranges  to  the  west,  whose  lofty 
summits  intercept  the  moisture-laden  winds  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean  and  condense  their  humidity  into  rain,  which  falls  upon 
the  western  slopes  of  the  mountains.  The  west  winds,  there- 
'  fore,  are  moistureless  after  passing  over  the  mountain  ranges 
and  supply  neither  rainfall  nor  dew  to  the  regions  to  the  east. 
From  this  cause  arises  abnormally  high  temperature  by  day  and 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  35 

rapid  radiation  of  heat  at  night  throughout  a  wide  zone  to  the 
eastward,  whereby  the  east  winds  are  Ukewise  deprived  of  most 
of  their  moisture  at  the  eastern  margin  of  the  arid  zone.  Hence 
there  is  but  Httle  rainfall  in  the  plains  region  eastward  from  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  their  southern  continuations,  and  the 
rivers  flowing  across  them  carry  only  the  water  from  melting 
snows  and  from  the  rain  that  falls  on  the  mountain  tops. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  Texas  the  conditions  are  reversed. 
During  a  large  portion  of  the  year  the  southeast  winds  bear  in 
suspension  a  heavy  volume  of  moisture  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 
This  is  condensed  by  colder  currents  of  air  from  the  north  and 
copious  rainfall  results.  On  the  eastern  border  the  annual  rain- 
fall reaches  a  maximum  of  sixty  inches  precipitation,  which  is 
exceeded  in  the  United  States  only  in  a  very  limited  area  upon 
the  Gulf  coast  and  upon  the  border  of  the  Pacific.  At  the  west- 
ern extremity  of  the  State  the  annual  rainfall  decreases  to  ten 
inches,  a  quantity  wholly  insufficient  for  agriculture.  This  is 
the  minimum  rainfall  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  aver- 
age precipitation  at  their  eastern  base  from  Mexico  to  Canada, 
whence  the  aridity  of  that  entire  plains  region.  Less  than  ten 
inches  rainfall  results  in  the  absolutely  desert  regions  to  the  west 
and  northwest  of  Texas. 

Although  Texas  comprehends  almost  the  extremes  of 
humidity  and  temperature  to  be  found  within  the  United  States, 
their  variations  are  relatively  small.  The  temperature  of  the 
eastern  zone  is  more  uniform  and  the  copious  humidity  more 
evenly  distributed  than  ordinarily.  The  charts  accompanying 
this  article  show  the  ranges  and  variation  of  humidity  and  tem- 
perature throughout  the  entire  United  States  in  isothermal  and 
hygrometric  zones ;  and  the  geology  and  meteorology  of  Texas 
are  shown  in  detail  by  the  several  charts  in  this  and  other  divisions 
of  the  Report.  These  exhibits  show  that  the  seasonal  fluctua- 
tions of  rainfall  and  temperature  in  Texas  are  below  the  average. 


36  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 


III. 
GEOLOGY  AND  SOILS. 

POSSIBLY  no  characteristic  except  climate  exercises  so  im- 
portant an  influence  in  shaping  the  future  of  a  country 
as  soil.  In  Texas,  climate  and  soil  have  mapped  out  the  wheat 
fields,  cotton  plantations,  sugar  belts,  rice  lands  and  forests 
of  pine  and  of  hard  wood. 

As  the  advantage  to  be  gained  by  developing  highly  a  re- 
stricted area  of  land  in  preference  to  partially  cultivating  a 
larger  tract  has  been  appreciated,  improved  methods  of  agricul- 
ture have  been  looked  for.  Careful  studies  have  been  made  of 
weather,  soils  and  crops.  In  order  to  give  the  subject  proper 
attention  there  have  been  established  colleges  of  agriculture, 
where  experimental  investigations  are  carried  on  and  regular 
instruction  given  in  the  natural  sciences.  How  far  these  efforts 
have  been  successful  in  elevating  the  subject  of  agriculture  to 
a  theoretical  basis  it  is  not  necessary  to  inquire. 

Certain  it  is  that  science  has  rendered  great  services  to  the 
practical  understanding  of  the  farmer.  It  is  in  consequence  of 
this  that  the  interest  of  the  agriculturist  causes  him  to  want  to 
know  something  of  the  supply  and  demand  for  staple  crops  and 
he  asks  for  records  of  temperature  and  rainfall  and  for  tables  of 
analysis  of  manures  and  soils.  To  satisfy  such  demands  the 
United  States  Government  maintains  a  Department  of  Agricul- 
ture whose  head  supports  the  dignity  of  a  Cabinet  Office. 
Several  States  have  agricultural  experiment  stations  and  from 
time  to  time  issue  bulletins  which  treat  crop  problems  in  a 
scientific  manner. 

It  is,  therefore,  with  the  view  of  affording  such  few  facts 
as  have  been  accessible  on  the  subject  of  the  soils  of  Texas  as 
relate  more  particularly  to  their  durability,  and  physical  and 
chemical  properties,  that  the  following  remarks  are  made. 


'b 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  37 

ORIGIN  OF  SOILS. 

CONSIDERED  from  a  scientific  standpoint  the  origin  of 
soils  lies  in  the  destruction  of  rocks,  and  their  fertility  is 
dependent  upon  the  physical  and  chemical  properties  of  such 
minerals  as  the  rocks  contain ;  decomposing  vegetable  and 
animal  matter  is  also  of  consequence  in  a  soil.  In  general 
terms  it  may  be  said  that  the  value  of  a  soil  is  dependent  upon 
a  fortunate  mixture  of  these  two  classes  of  substances. 

RESIDUAL  AND  TRANSPORTED  SOILS. 

IF  a  soil  is  found  close  to  the  site  of  the  rocky  formation  from 
which  it  was  derived  it  is  called  a  residual  soil.  Residual 
soils  are  found  in  Texas  on  the  plains  and  prairies  and  on  high 
lands  which  are  not  subject  to  the  overflow  of  rivers.  If  the 
parent  rock  is  not  near  by,  there  is  formed  what  is  termed  a 
>  transported  soil.  Transported  soils  are  found  in  river  bot- 
toms and  deltas,  the  famous  alluvial  lands  of  Texas  rivers  fur- 
nishing excellent  examples. 

'  RATE  OF  FORMATION  OF  SOILS. 

THE  formation  of  soils  is  a  constant,  although  slow  proc- 
ess, the  rate  varying  greatly  with  the  activity  of  the 
agencies  which  destroy  the  rocks  and  the  resistance  of  the 
materials  attacked.  Granite  and  many  of  the  most  ancient 
rocks  are  nearly  indestructible,  while  some  limestones  and  other 
rocks  of  corresponding  age  appear  to  fairly  rot  away.  This  is 
well  illustrated  in  Texas,  where  the  soils  which  lie  directly  upon 
the  older  and  more  solid  formations  are  poorly  suited  to 
agriculture,  while  those  which  have  been  derived  from  rocks  of 
a  more  recent  geological  age  have  been  often  highly  cultivated. 
The  organic  matter  present  in  soils  is  commonly  known  as 
humus,  and  is  attributable  to  the  death  and  partial  decay  of 
plants;  the  changes  which  take  place  in  it  are  largely  due  to  the 
action  of  minute  animals  and  bacteria.  Humus  is  a  source  of 
nitrogen  and  aids  in  preserving  moisture  and  heat  in  the 
ground.  Mineral  elements  which  are  Considered  important  to 
fertility  and  which  result  from  the  action  of  water  and  its  con- 


r  O  ''i  W 


38  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

tained  impurities  are  lime,  potash  and  phosphoric  acid.  Im- 
portant elements  which  give  to  a  soil  characteristics  of  texture 
are  silica  and  alumina.  The  former  predominates  in  sandy  soils, 
the  latter  is  a  mark  of  clay.  Accompanying  this  notice  there  is 
a  table  of  forty  analyses  of  soils  found  in  Texas. 

PERMANENT  FERTILITY. 

THE  solid  and  hquid  constituents  of  soils  required  by  plants 
are  often  slow  in  their  formation.  Different  plants  ex- 
tract different  chemicals,  and  in  course  of  time  elements  which 
are  constantly  demanded  may  be  withdrawn  until  the  land 
becomes  poor.  Instances,  however,  of  soils  so  rich  in  desirable 
elements  that  they  never  seem  to  be  exhausted  are  found  in 
several  parts  of  Texas.  The  explanation  of  permanent  fertility 
is  to  be  looked  for  in  two  directions.  The  elements  demanded 
by  the  plants  are  either  renev.'ed  from  above  as  by  the  over- 
flows which  are  common  in  alluvial  river  bottoms,  or  they  are 
replaced  from  below  by  the  wearing  away  of  the  earthy  struc- 
ture upon  which  the  soil  is  based. 

To  draw  useful  conclusions  from  the  brief  notice  which  can 
be  here  given  to  the  soils  of  Texas,  it  will  be  desirable  to  con- 
sider what  has  just  been  said  in  connection  with  a  few  facts 
relative  to  the  geology  of  the  State. 


M 


GEOLOGICAL  FORMATIONS. 

OST  of  the  surface  of  the  State  of  Texas  is  composed  of 
soils  the  materials  of  which  were  deposited  from  water 
during  remote  ages  when  the  present  territory  was  covered  by 
the  sea.  Fossil  remains  show  that  much  of  the  land  was  formed 
in  that  period  of  the  world's  history  marked  as  the  closing  part 
of  the  reign  of  reptiles  and  known  to  geologists  as  the  creta- 
ceous. The  cretaceous  formation  in  the  United  States  extends 
along  a  great  part  of  the  Atlantic  border  as  far  back  as  New 
Mexico  and  Tennessee  in  the  South;  from  the  westerly  margin 
it  gradually  tapers  off  to  a  point  near  Cape  Cod.  A  leading 
feature  of  the  cretaceous  is  the  presence  of  chalk,  marl  and 
green  sand,  all  of  which  form  a  very  important  element  in  con- 
tributing to  the  fertility  of  a  soil.     There  are  two  divisions  of 


r^ 


C 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  39 

this  formation  in  Texas.  The  first  is  known  as  the  Lower,  or 
Older,  and  the  second  as  the  Upper  or  Newer  Cretaceous.  The 
Upper  Cretaceous  is  by  all  means  the  more  important  from  an 
agricultural  standpoint.  In  Texas  the  Older  Cretaceous  con- 
sists of  hard  limestones,  alternating  with  clays,  often  underlaid 
by  sands.  It  is  found  in  the  Great  Plain,  Callahan  Divide,  the 
Lampasas  and  Cut  Plain,  all  of  which  are  in  the  central  part  of 
the  State  and  in  the  region  of  the  Trans-Pecos  Mountains.  The 
soils  have  not  been  cultivated  as  extensively  as  the  soils  known 
as  the  black  lands. 

THE  BLACK  PRAIRIE  LAND. 

THE  Upper  or  Newer  Cretaceous  consists  largely  of  soft 
calcareous  materials  that  readily  break  up  to  form  clay 
marls.  The  Upper  Cretaceous  is  conspicuous  in  Texas,  where 
it  forms  a  large  part  of  the  best  agricultural  lands.  The  value  of 
the  soil  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  it  lies  in  that  portion  of 
the  State  which  has  the  greatest  rural  population.  The  famous 
black  soil  region,  which  runs  in  a  broad  belt  from  San  Antonio 
to  the  Red  River,  belongs  to  the  Upper  Cretaceous.  It  is  rich 
in  Hme,  dissolved  alumina  and  siHca.  The  color  of  the  black  soil 
is  due  to  humus,  which,  as  has  been  mentioned,  is  a  condition 
highly  favorable  to  fertility.  The  texture  ranges  from  sandy  to 
an  extreme  waxy  or  clayey  consistency.  The  black  lands  vary 
in  the  matter  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  greatest  amount  is  found 
in  the  soils  of  the  counties  of  McLennan,  Falls  and  Lampasas. 
The  least  phosphoric  acid  is  found  in  the  sandy  soils  of  Ellis  and 
the  waxy  soil  of  Collin.  There  is  a  fair  proportion  of  this  im- 
portant manurial  ingredient  in  Van  Zandt  and  Johnson  counties. 
In  a  general  way  it  may  be  said  that  potash  is  usually  present  in 
the  black  soils  to  a  sufficient  degree  for  fertility.  In  the  coun- 
ties of  Collin,  McLennan  and  Falls  the  potash  content  is  very 
high,  this  soil  being  perhaps  the  best  "Black  Waxy"  land  in  the 
State. 

SOILS  OF  THE  COAST  AND  EAST  TEXAS. 

BETWEEN  the  central  agricultural  region  and  the  southern 
and  eastern  boundaries  of  the  State  there  is  a  well-defined 
area  of  a  younger  geological  age  than  the  Cretaceous.     It  con- 


40  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

sists  of  comparatively  level  layers  of  clay  and  sand  of  sfreat 
depth  and  is  known  to  geologists  as  the  Tertiary.  The  older 
portion  of  this  territory,  which  Hes  toward  the  east,  supports  a 
natural  growth  of  hard  woods,  while  the  newer  part  in  the  south 
is  largely  given  over  to  stock  raising  and  small  agriculture.  Cli- 
mate and  the  mineral  qualities  of  the  soils  are  adapted  to  agri- 
culture, particularly  in  the  lower  portions  of  the  eastern 
country  and  in  much  of  the  southern  coast  region,  but  much  of 
the  land  suffers  for  want  of  proper  drainage.  In  some  districts 
the  soils  take  on  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  black  land 
and  red  soils  to  the  north.  Their  texture  varies  from  stiff,  black 
loams  to  nearly  pure  clays  and  sands. 

THE  RED  LANDS. 

TO  the  northwest  of  the  Cretaceous  formation  is  an  extensive 
country,  which,  from  a  geological  standpoint,  is  much 
older.  It  extends  from  what  is  known  as  the  Upper  Cross  Tim- 
bers to  the  Staked  Plains  and  from  the  Canadian  River  Valley 
south  to  the  Concho  Country.  This  large  tract  is  known  to 
geologists  as  the  Permian,  and  is  commonly  spoken  of  in  Texas 
as  the  "red  lands."  Characteristics  of  the  soil  are  heavy  beds 
of  clays  underlaid  by  sandstones.  Gypsum  is  found  in  deposits 
of  varying  proportions.  The  soils  contain  a  large  amount  of 
potash  and  a  fair  percentage  of  lime  and  magnesia,  but  a  low 
percentage  of  phosphoric  acid.  Iron  gives  the  soil  a  red  color, 
but  it  is  not  present  in  large  proportions.  Its  even  distribution 
is  responsible  for  the  marked  hue  which  has  given  to  this  region 
its  local  name.  Want  of  permanent  fertility,  partly  due  to  a 
small  content  of  organic  matter  and  liability  to  drought,  have 
caused  the  soil  of  this  region  to  be  somewhat  neglected  for  agri- 
cultural purposes. 

THE  STAKED  PLAINS. 

THE  Staked  Plains  belong  to  a  similar  geological  age  as 
the  land  bordering  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  soil 
was  formed  somewhat  in  the  same  way.  Instead  of  having  been 
covered  by  salt  water,  however,  the  high,  level  country  of  the 
Staked  Plains  once  formed  the  bottom  of  a  great  inland  lake 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  41 

of  fresh  water.  The  soil  of  the  Staked  Plains  is  described  as 
of  the  "Black  Waxy"  variety,  with  black  sandy  and  red  loam,  to 
red  sandy,  as  in  the  east  central  and  central  regions  of  Texas 
respectively.  Small  alkali  lakes  occur  occasionally  and  there  is 
a  want  of  rainfall  suitable  for  agriculture. 

ALLUVIAL  SOILS. 

LANDS  along  the  lower  courses  of  the  principal  rivers  of 
Texas  are  noted  for  their  fertility.  They  contain  alluvial 
soils,  heavily  charged  with  decorhposing  vegetable  matters, 
which  are  laid  down  in  successive  layers  at  overflows.  There  is 
a  resemblance  between  many  of  the  bottom  lands  of  Texas,  and 
the  alluvial  bed  of  the  Red  River  may  be  taken  as  the  type. 
The  channel  through  the  Red  River  country  along  the  red  and 
black  land  districts  is  very  narrow  and  contracted  between 
high  banks.  A  second  river  bottom,  or  channel,  which  is  over- 
flowed when  the  river  is  in  flood,  extends  back  from  the  middle 
course  of  the  stream  for  a  considerable  distance,  gradually 
widening  as  the  river  proceeds  eastwardly.  In  the  second  bot- 
tom there  is  usually  excellent  agricultural  land,  as  may  be 
noted  in  the  eastern  part  of  Cook  County,  the  soil  of  which  is 
considered  one  of  the  richest  in  the  State. 

The  lands  along  the  Brazos  River  are  very  fertile  and  the 
most  extensive  alluvial  country  in  Texas.  The  Colorado  bot- 
tom as  far  as  the  black  land  region  is  narrow,  after  which  it 
widens  out  to  a  broad,  red,  rich,  silty  bottom.  The  lower  Rio 
Grande  lands  are  sandy  and  black  waxy  and  are  said  to  be 
especially  productive  under  irrigation.  The  Trinity,  Navasota, 
Guadalupe  and  many  smaller  streams  in  the  lower  part  of  their 
course  flow  through  country  which  is  very  rich  with  soils  car- 
ried from  a  distance  by  the  transporting  power  of  their  streams. 


42 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 


RESULTS  OF  ANALYSES  OF  FOR 

From  Chemical  Data  Collected  by 


SOURCE  OFjISAMPLE. 


Brazos  River  Silt 

Brazos  Bottom,  Harlem 

Subsoil 

Brazos  Bottom,  Chocolate  Loam  ,  . . . 

Subsoil   

Brazos  Bottom,  Peach  Ridge  

Subsoil 

Kaufman  Hammock 

Subsoil 

Kaufman  County  Timber  Land 

Subsoil 

Kaufman  Prairie  Soil 

Subsoil 

Manor 

Subsoil 

New  Braunsfels 

Subsoil 

Waxahachie 

Subsoil 

Pell  County  Black  Waxy 

Subsoil 

Bell  County  Hammock 

Subsoil 

Pecan  Gap  Prairie 

Subsoil 

Terrell  Prairie 

Subsoil 

Cherokee  County,  Rusk  Valley  Soil. 

Subsoil 

Ridge  Soil 

Subsoil 

Pine  Ridge 

Subsoil 

Tyler  County  Creek  Bottom 

Subsoil 

Tyler  County  Upland  Soil 

Subsoil 

Taylor  County,  Abilene 

Subsoil 

Wichita 


3.26 
1.17 
2.26 
3.04 
3.28 
4.62 
3.11 
7.91 
7.70 
4.56 
4.36 
7.57 
6.78 
8.47 
8.23 
7.22 
7.34 
9.06 
7.64 
2.42 
1.94 
3.56 
4.91 
6.34 
7.568 
2.09 
2.09 
1.32 
1.02 
.42 
.30 
.80 
.40 
2.30 
1.77 
.37 
.30 
4.52 
4.80 
1.62 


oc 


2.69 
1.544 
2.91 
3.00 
2.50 
9.39 
4.70 
6.92 
6.16 
6.03 
7.42 
11.06 
10.96 
7.26 
7.18 
4.96 
2.24 
7.77 
5.80 
7.34 
2.65 
6.52 
2.51 
7.88 
6.668 
6.84 
3.81 
4.60 
3.31 
1.96 
.92 
2.05 
.73 
3.22 
2.56 
1.18 
.67 
3  05 
2.69 
3.01 


SB 
(uC/3 


70.92 
84.31 
79.50 
78.59 
77.57 
76.45 
8?.  97 
62.98 
62.84 
60.55 
60.96 
56.50 
56.40 
50.69 
51.17 
61.99 
51.07 
59.90 
53.17 
44.23 
48.17 
77.05 
78.09 
68  06 
62.91 
85.96 
87.95 
83.22 
85.91 
95  25 
96.38 
96.21 
97.76 
89.49 
91.09 
97.58 
98,17 
73.78 
64  30 
88.46 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 


43 


TY  SAMPLES  OF  TEXAS  SOILS. 

the  Texas  Agricultural  Station. 


2 

2 

1 
0 

2 
■3 

2 

< 

2 

<0 

2 

o 

1< 
0 

a 

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0 

0 

5 

13 
O 
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C 
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u 

a 
bo 

A 

0 

Si 

0 

A 

a 
0 

u 

P 

"rt 

rt 

"3 

a 

0 

0 

a 

1-1 

< 

0 

§ 

w 

eu 

(U 

w 

U 

3.62 

.558 

5.66 

1.85 

.29 

.34 

.885 

.224 

4.00 

2.36 

3.87 

2.74 

.24 

Trace 

.166 

.46 

.37 

2.24 

2.91 

5.87 

2.01 

.23 

Trace 

.26 

1.24 

1.25 

1.58 

2.80 

6.05 

L66 

.126 

Trace 

.136 

1.091 

.856 

2.04 

3.18 

8.28 

1.82 

.18 

Trace 

.128 

.841 

.443 

1.71 

2.60 

3.51 

.609 

.73 

.079 

Trace 

.545 

.32 

.34 

2.33 

4.73 

.424 

.37 

.134 

.154 

.482 

.262 

.28 

2.86 

7.35 

6.30 

.46 

.147 

.25 

.68 

.09 

4.91 

2.74 

8.18 

6.74 

.297 

.216 

.499 

.39 

.20 

4.48 

2.42 

4.53 

11.00 

.543 

.127 

.326 

.316 

.128 

8.49 

2.27 

5.59 

10.05 

.64 

.16 

.266 

.419 

.185 

7.78 

2.82 

7.04 

6.62 

.81 

.151 

.313 

.837 

.052 

6.26 

2.78 

2.38 

7.35 

.615 

.137 

.294 

.606 

.109 

6.06 

3.73 

16.35 

5.81 

.317 

.082 

.115 

.576 

.151 

5.84 

4.74 

14  33 

6.96 

.507 

.147 

.119 

.604 

.095 

6.11 

4.03 

5.62 

7.32 

1.31 

.30 

.41 

.22 

.13 

5.80 

4.15 

5.76 

14.66 

.96 

.17 

.51 

.47 

.12 

11.52 

5.44 

6.81 

5.17 

.67 

.14 

.15 

.35 

.04 

3.98 

5.18 

6.32 

10.62 

1.41 

.29 

.65 

.41 

.24 

8.11 

\l 

58) 
68  f 

23.98 

.94 

.15 

.12 

.22 

.25 

18.00 

23.60 

1.13 

.21 

.13 

.28 

.30 

18.35 

2.66 

4.91 

1.03 

.73 

.02 

.18 

1.45 

.96 

.81 

3.98 

7.74 

.83 

.90 

.02 

.17 

1.07 

.33 

.65 

4.23 

9.48 

.814 

.32 

.236 

.128 

.83 

.636 

.344 

4.19 

10.36 

.305 

.34 

.12 

.179 

1.29 

.60 

2.32 

1.08 

1.68 

.55 

.28 

.24 

.28 

.17 

.07 

1.45 

2.71 

.37 

.32 

.11 

.23 

(2 

7) 

5.82 

2.11 

.555 

.126 

.243 

.48 

.40 

".44 

6.44 

1.71 

.255 

.197 

.  ■  •  • 

.141 

.442 

.486 

.187 

1.22 

.69 

.16 

Trace 

Trace 

.07 

Trace 

Trace 

1.18 

.66 

Trace 

.18 

.10 

.15 

Trace 

Trace 

.776 



Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

".34 

.93 

".669 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

01 

r3. 

941 

".44 

".08 

Trace 

.03 

.06 

.07 

4 

12 

.36 

.15 

Trace 

.03 

.12 

.16 

.... 

" 

75  ■ 

.08 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

.... 

78 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

Trace 

1.78 

6.51 

4.04 

V.ii 

.154 

Trace 

1.14 

.96 

2.25 

2  23 

5.06 

9.33 

5.20 

1.10 

4.23 

.102 

.588 

..305 

2.06 

3.82 

.07 

Trace 

.06 

Trace 

.426 

.139 

44  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 


IV. 

THE  STAPLE  AGRICULTURAL  AND  PASTORAL 

PRODUCTS  AND  THEIR  RANGES. 

THE  staple  field  crops  of  Texas  comprise  cotton,  sugar,  tobacco 
and  rice,  in  the  class  which,  to  thrive,  requires  comparatively 
high  temperature,  long'  seasons  and  plentiful  humidity.  In  the 
-cereal  class  corn  is  an  important  crop  of  large  productivity.  Oats, 
wheat,  rye  and  barley  thrive  in  large  areas,  while  the  variety  of 
highly  nutritious  grasses  is  great  and  their  growth  luxuriant.  As 
a  producer  of  cattle,  hogs,  sheep,  mules  and  horses,  the  State 
stands  in  the  first  rank.  Garden  and  orchard  products  in  great 
variety  find  the  soil  and  climate  congenial. 

The  areas  within  which  the  successful  cultivation  of  the  staple 
crops  has  been  already  well  developed  are  indicated  upon  the 
several  charts  herewith,  which  also  show  their  relative  produc- 
tivity in  comparison  with  that  of  other  parts  of  the  United  States. 
In  the  case  of  the  various  cereals  these  charts  are  based  upon  the 
actual  product  in  bushels  per  cultivated  acre.  It  should  be  pointed 
out  that  while  the  maximum  potential  product  has  been  reached 
in  the  Northern  grain  States  by  skilful  cultivation.  Southern 
farmers  have  had  comparatively  little  experience  in  grain  grow- 
ing and  in  improved  methods ;  whereby  their  actual  product  is  much 
less  than  the  potential  product  possible  under  the  best  methods, 
when  applied  to  the  favorable  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  found 
in  Texas.  Wheat  growing  has,  however,  increased  very  rapidly 
in  Texas,  and  it  now  ranks  among  the  greatest  wheat-producing 
States. 

A  statistical  exhibit  of  acreage  and  bushels  is,  therefore,  of 
little  value  as  an  indication  of  the  grain-raising  capacity  of  Texas ; 
for  which  reason  such  statistics  are  omitted.  On  the  other  hand, 
exact  and  ample  information  is  indispensable  as  to  soils,  hu- 
midity, rainfall,  temperature  and  their  seasonal  variations ,  and 
natural  irrigation  afforded  by  water  courses.  Some  of  these  im- 
portant subjects  have  been  separately  treated  in  detail  in  the 
special    reports     on     "Health    Conditions     and     Climate"     and 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  45 

"Water  Supplies,"  by  Dr.  George  A.  Soper,  Ph.D.,  which  are 
included  elsewhere  in  this  volume ;  for  which  reason  only  general 
reference  to  those  subjects  is  here  necessary.  Dr.  Soper's  admir- 
able m.onographs  are  accepted  as  the  basis  for  this  article,  as  to 
climate  and  water  supply  ;  and  the  reader  is  referred  to  Dr.  Soper's 
parallel  discussion  of  the  subject.  While  the  physical  conditions 
of  a  large  part  of  Texas  favor  a  very  large  yield  of  corn,  a  high 
average  yield  of  wheat  and  oats  and  a  good  average  yield  of  the 
minor  grains,  the  economic  conditions  are  peculiarly  favorable  to 
the  profitable  cultivation  of  food  products.  The  natural  condi- 
tions must  eventually  induce  a  large  manufacturing  and  trading 
population ;  and  cotton  raising  and  stock  raising  must  continue  to 
absorb  vast  areas.  Thus,  on  the  one  hand,  the  grain  and  other 
food  products  of  the  field  will  be  restricted  by  the  use  of  land  for 
cotton  and  grazing;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  a  relatively  large 
food-buying  population  will  consume  the  grain  product  of  nearby 
fields  at  prices  very  profitable  to  the  producer,  because  the  selling 
price  is  not  largely  consumed  by  the  cost  of  delivery,  as  is  the  case 
with  the  surplus  grain  products  of  the  Northwest  when  they  are 
forced  to  seek  a  market  in  Europe. 

To  state  the  case  tersely,  Texas  will  eventually  be  able  to  con- 
sume its  own  grain  and  garden  product,  while  it  is  unlikely  that 
any  of  the  Northern  prairie  States  ever  will. 

The  reasons  arc  found  in  the  collocation  of  mineral  deposits, 
sufficient  fuel,  and  oil  reservoirs ;  the  incentive  to  cotton  manu- 
facturing offered  by  the  fact  that  the  peculiar  fibre  of  Texas  or 
Arkansas  cotton  is  essential  to  great  development  in  that  industry, 
and  that  Texas  can  produce  a  greater  variety  of  food  supplies  at 
less  cost  than  almost  any  other  State.  The  conditions  recited  tend 
strongly  to  induce  manufacturing  growth  and  make  agriculture 
profitable. 

Although  cotton  is  by  far  the  most  important  agricultural 
product  of  the  State,  its  relation  to  prosperous  development  may 
be  concisely  stated.  Texas,  in  common  with  nearly  all  the  other 
cotton  States,  has  grown  cotton  excessively,  and  greatly  neglected 
other  field  products,  for  which  there  has  been  a  less  obvious  and 
reliable  market.  As  a  rule  the  cotton  acreage  has  been  great,  and 
in  years  of  large  production  the  great  surplus  has  sought  distant 
markets  at  small  and  profitless  prices.     The  growing  tendency 


46  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

is  toward  diversity  of  crops — less  cotton  and  more  grain  and 
other  food  products.  Less  acreage,  less  surplus,  more  domestic 
consumption,  less  export  and  better  prices  sum  up  the  outlook 
for  Texas  cotton  growing.  Texas  now  annually  plants  about 
six  and  a  half  to  seven  million  acres  in  cotton  and  produces  from 
two  and  a  half  to  three  and  a  half  million  bales — more  than  one- 
quarter  of  the  product  of  the  entire  United  States. 

The  sugar  production  of  Texas  is  comparatively  unimportant, 
although  it  stands  second  in  the  rank  of  sugar-growing  States. 
The  principal  sites  of  its  cultivation  are  the  lower  bottom  lands 
of  the  Brazos  and  Colorado  rivers.  The  production  of  tobacco 
is  likewise  unimportant.  Rice  growing  is  a  pursuit  which  has 
been  little  developed  in  Texas,  although  the  conditions  are  pecul- 
iarly favorable  to  it.  Vast  areas  throughout  the  lower  coastal 
plain  are  admirably  suited  for  its  highly  successful  cultivation 
by  reason  of  continuous  and  abundant  ground  moisture,  con- 
stantly humid  atmosphere,  and  proper  temperature  during  a 
long  season.  The  actual  rice  product  is  small,  but  in  the  opinion  of 
competent  judges  rice  culture  is  a  potential  industry,  worthy  to 
rank  among  the  most  valuable  agricultural  resources  of  Texas. 

The  production  of  textile  fibres  is  also  a  potential  resource 
deserving  consideration.  The  ramie  plant  is  extremely  prolific  in 
Texas ;  when  the  commercial  use  of  ramie  fibre  becomes  practi- 
cable through  economical  decortication,  which  has  not  yet  been 
achieved,  the  growing  of  ramie  will  become  an  important  in- 
dustry. The  natural  conditions  are  equally  favorable  to  jute  cul- 
ture. Experiment  has  shown  that  the  fibre-bearing  animals 
other  than  the  sheep  can  be  successfully  acclimated  in  Texas.  The 
Angora  goat,  which  supplies  the  long,  silky  fibre  commercially 
called  mohair,  thrives  well. 

As  a  pastoral  State  Texas  stands  among  the  foremost.  Its 
vast  upland  areas,  though  unfitted  for  cultivation  by  lack  of 
streams  and  rain,  produce  a  great  variety  of  nutritious  grasses, 
which  afford  excellent  pasturage  for  cattle  and  sheep.  The 
luxuriant  growth  of  the  forage  plants  appears  from  the  fact  that 
the  tonnage  of  hay  per  acre  is  greater  than  in  any  other  State  in 
which  hay  is  an  important  product.  Hence  the  cattle  product  of 
the  State  exceeds  that  of  any  other;  and  in  sheep  it  is  only  ex- 
ceeded by  Ohio. 

The  conditions  are  likewise  very  favorable  to  the  breeding 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  47 

of  horses  and  mules ;  while  the  abundant  corn  product  has  made 
the  State  one  of  the  chief  producers  of  hogs. 

There  are  numerous  varieties  of  food  plants,  fruits,  etc.,  pecu- 
liar to  local  areas.  These  are  discussed  in  the  following  di- 
visions, wherein  the  distribution  of  farm,  orchard,  garden  and 
dairy  products  by  local  districts  is  also  set  forth.  Local  conditions 
of  soil,  water  supply  and  similar  matters  are  likewise  explained  in 
sufficient  detail. 


V. 

CLIMATE,  SOIL  AND  PRODUCTS  OF  LOCAL  DIVISIONS. 

DISTINCTIVE  climatic  and  physical  conditions  delimit  the 
territory  of  the  State  into  at  least  nine  well-defined  areas, 
characterized  by  obviously  different  features,  determined  by 
latitude,  altitude,  rainfall,  soil  and  proximity  to  the  ocean.  They 
are: 

1.  The  Coastal  Plain. 

2.  The  Eastern  Texas  Forest  Region. 

3.  The  Red  River  Valley. 

4.  The  Black-Land  Prairies. 

5.  The  Lower  Rio  Grande  and  Nueces  Region. 

6.  The  Chocolate-Soil  Plains  Region. 

7.  The  Staked  Plains. 

8.  The  Irrigable  Pecos  and  Rio  Grande  Valleys. 

9.  The  Trans-Pecos  Arid  Lands. 

1.     THE   COASTAL  PLAIN. 

THIS  title  is  here  used  in  a  restricted  sense  to  denote  only 
the  purely  alluvial  portion  of  the  true  (or  geological) 
coastal  plain;  that  is  to  say,  the  almost  level  lands  immediately 
bordering  or  adjacent  to  the  coast,  wholly  formed  by  the  sedi- 
mentary deposits  brought  down  by  the  rivers  and  dropped  upon 
the  ocean  floor  to  gradually  form  new  land.  This  alluvial,  or 
lower  coast  plain,  which  corresponds  to  the  bottom  lands  of  a 
river  extends  from  the  Sabine  River  on  the  northeast,  to  the 
Rio  Grande  on  the  southwest,  varying  in  width  from  seventy 
miles  in  the  southwest,  to  over  one  hundred  miles  in  the  north- 


48  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

eastern  parts,  and  rising  gradually  from  the  low,  sandy  beach 
of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  250  feet  altitude  along  its  northwest- 
ern boundary.  Its  latitude  ranges  from  26  degrees  on  the  Rio 
Grande  to  31  degrees  on  the  Sabine, 

The  average  annual  rainfall  varies  from  sixty  or  more  inches 
in  its  northeastern  parts  to  twenty  or  thirty  inches  in  the  south- 
west. 

The  entire  belt  is  perpetually  fanned  by  the  Gulf  breeze, 
which  causes  a  remarkably  equable  temperature  whose  ex- 
tremes show  an  annual  variation  of  but  about  30  degrees.  The 
temperature  is  seldom  more  than  80  degrees  Fahrenheit,  in  the 
shade,  in  summer,  and  in  winter  tails  below  50  degrees  only  on 
the  rare  occasions  when  the  great  blizzards  known  as  "North- 
ers" sweep  down  from  the  north.  During  these  furious  storms 
the  cold  becomes  intense,  the  temperature  commonly  falling  to 
15  or  10  degrees,  and  in  very  rare  instances  to  zero.  The 
Northers  are,  however,  of  rare  occurrence  and  short  duration. 

The  soil  is  generally  black,  more  or  less  sandy,  rich;  in 
places  alkaHne,  when  it  is  underlaid  by  a  "hard-pan,"  yet  such 
become  productive  by  drainage  and  cultivation.  The  general 
surface  of  the  country  is  very  flat,  especially  the  eastern  parts, 
yet  pretty  well  drained,  especially  in  the  vicinity  of  the  numer- 
ous bayous  and  creeks  coursing  through  it  to  the  rivers  and 
Gulf.  Along  these  streams  and  the  river  bottoms,  which  latter 
are  low,  wide  and  exceedingly  rich,  there  is  heavy  timber,  con- 
sisting of  numerous  species  of  trees.  In  Brazoria  and  adjoining 
counties  are  large  bodies  of  great  live-oaks.  Away  from  the 
streams  the  country  is  mostly  prairie,  covered  with  luxurious 
grass,  on  which  many  large  herds  of  cattle  feed,  where  not  in 
cultivation  in  other  crops. 

Cotton  and  corn  are  the  leading  products,  but  on  the  river 
and  creek  bottoms,  especially  in  the  central  and  eastern  parts, 
ribbon-cane  and  rice  are  grown  extensively  and  yield  great 
harvests,  and  are  very  profitable.  The  lands  within  ten  to  fif- 
teen or  twenty  miles  of  the  Gulf,  are  generally  very  favorable 
to  the  growing  of  winter  vegetables,  such  as  cabbage,  celery, 
spinach,    lettuce,    radishes,    turnips,    cauliflower,    asparagus    and 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  49 

onions ;  and  also  to  strawberries,  which  ripen  in  February,  March 
and  April.  Early  tomatoes,  potatoes,  beans,  etc.,  are  produced  in 
large  quantities,  for  the  Northern  cities  as  well  as  for  the  home 
markets,  the  chief  being  Houston  and  Galveston. 

Large  plantations  of  figs  for  canning  are  being  made,  as  the 
crop  is  very  large,  certain,  easily  handled  in  that  form,  and  very 
profitable.  Some  varieties  of  pears,  plums  and  peaches  have 
proven  profitable  on  the  higher,  better-drained  portions  of  the 
region.  Melons  grow  on  the  more  sandy,  well-drained  lands  of 
the  coast  country,  and,  shipped  in  car-  and  train-loads  to 
numerous  Northern  cities,  have  proven  very  profitable,  as  no 
competition  west  of  the  Mississippi  River  comes  against  them. 
The  ornamental  varieties  of  trees,  shrubs,  perennials,  etc.,  for 
decoration  of  home  grounds,  parks  and  cemeteries,  are  very 
numerous  and  luxuriant.  Bermuda  grass  is  the  variety  princi- 
pally in  use  for  lawns,  for  which  purpose  it  is  most  eflfective 
and  satisfactory.  For  pasturage  it  is  most  prolific  per  acre,  bet- 
ter relished,  and  endures  more  drought  and  tramping  by  stock 
than  any  other  known.  All  the  bays,  inlets,  bayous,  creeks  and 
rivers  of  this  region  are  abundantly  supplied  with  numerous 
species  of  fine  food  fish  and  water-fowl. 

2.  THE  EASTERN  TEXAS  FOREST  REGION. 

THIS  region  extends  northward  from  the  eastern  end  of  the 
coastal  plain,  between  the  Sabine  and  Navasota  Rivers,  to 
the  Red  River,  a  distance  of  nearly  300  miles  from  latitude  30 
degrees  to  nearly  34  degrees.  Its  extreme  width  is  about  150 
miles,  narrowing  somewhat  from  south  to  north.  Its  altitude 
rises  from  250  feet  in  its  southern  part  to  about  600  or  700  feet 
in  its  central  parts  about  Nacogdoches,  Palestine,  Jacksonville, 
Tyler  and  Gilmer. 

On  the  uplands  the  surface  soil  is  everywhere  of  sandy  tex- 
ture, light  red  or  gray,  on  red  or  yellow  clay  subsoil.  In  the 
southern  parts  the  surface  exposure  is  of  the  Tertiary  forma- 
tion, in  the  northern  parts  of  the  Cretaceous.  In  the  latter,  as 
at  Nacogdoches,  are  rich  marl-beds  highly  valuable  as 
a  source  of  fertilizers  excellently  adapted  for  use  in  the  sandy 
soils.     Good  bodies  of  lignite  coal,  of  good  steam-producing 


50  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

quality,  are  found,  as  at  Timpson,  in  Shelby  County,  where  mines 
are  worked  to  considerable  extent.  Excellent  and  abundant 
iron  ores  are  found  in  several  counties,  and  are  worked  quite 
extensively  at  Rusk,  in  Cherokee  County. 

Great  abundance  of  pure,  soft  water  is  reached  in  wells  at 
ten  to  fifty  feet,  and  there  are  numerous  perennial  springs, 
creeks  and  rivers. 

The  prevailing  feature  of  the  country  is  stately  forest 
growth.  Vast  forests  of  fine  lumber  pines  of  three  different 
species  cover  the  uplands  in  the  southern  parts,  except  where 
cut  out  by  the  millmen,  and  put  into  cultivation  by  the  farm- 
ers. Skirting  the  streams  are  many  species  of  oak,  elm,  maple, 
gum,  poplar,  hickory,  walnut,  magnolia,  holly,  etc.  Numerous 
species  of  beautiful  flowering  shrubs  and  perennials,  identical 
or  allied  with  those  of  the  Carolinas  and  Georgia,  grow  pro- 
fusely among  the  rich  undergrowth  of  the  forests. 

The  rainfall  averages  about  fifty  inches. 

The  fierce  blizzards  that  in  winter  strike  the  great  prairie 
regions  of  Northwestern  Texas  make  little  impression  in  the 
forest  region.  The  climate  is  very  mild,  zero  temperature  rarely 
occurring,  few  winters  having  lower  temperature  at  any  time 
than  20  degrees  above  zero.  Cape  jessamines,  figs  and  pome- 
granates endure  the  winters  uninjured,  and  tea  roses  continue 
to  bloom  through  the  holidays.  All  the  fruits  of  Georgia  thrive 
well  here,  and  at  a  few  places,  among  them  Jacksonville,  Long- 
view,  Troupe  and  Tyler,  the  fruit  and  garden  truck  interests  have 
grown  in  recent  years  to  large  proportions,  so  that  carloads  and 
even  trainloads  of  melons,  strawberries  and  peaches  are  shipped 
to  the  North  in  their  season. 

In  the  southern  parts  ribbon  cane  and  rice  thrive  on  bottom 
lands,  and  cotton  grows  luxuriantly  everywhere  except  upon 
the  very  thin,  sandy  lands,  which  likewise  yield  well,  with  fer- 
tilizers and  good  culture.'  The  red  soils  produce  fair  corn, 
wheat  and  rye,  but  the  region  cannot  compete  in  grains  and 
grasses  with  the  black  lands  farther  west.  Hence  it  is  not 
so  well  adapted  to  the  production  of  beef  and  pork.  It  is,  how- 
ever, excellently  suited  to  dairy  products,  by  reason  of  the  native 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  51 

and  Bermuda  grasses  and  sorghum,  with  plenty  of  good  shade 
and  water.  Fine  lands  are  yet  very  cheap  in  almost  all  parts  of 
East  Texas.  The  lumber  interests  have  been  the  chief  objects 
of  development,  yet  there  is  probably  no  other  part  of  the  State 
in  which  various  industries  could  be  more  readily  or  profitably 
developed. 


3.     THE  RED  RIVER  VALLEY. 

THIS  region  extends  from  the  northern  end  of  the  East  Texas 
forest  region,  250  miles  westward  to  Wichita  County, 
averaging  some  ten  miles  in  width  from  the  river  on  either  side. 
Its  soil  is  for  the  most  part  similar  to  the  sandy,  timbered  soils 
of  East  Texas,  with  many  little  prairies  of  black  sandy  soils 
interspersed.  The  ahitude  varies  from  300  feet  about  Tex- 
arkana  to  1,000  feet  in  Wichita  County.  Denison,  in  Grayson 
County,  has  an  altitude  of  between  T50  and  800  feet.  The 
drainage  everywhere,  even  in  the  river  bottoms,  is  excellent,  and 
the  climate  mild  and  salubrious,  except  that  in  the  heavily  tim- 
bered bottoms  it  is  malarious  until  cleared  and  cultivated,  when 
it  becomes  healthful. 

The  varieties  of  trees  are  not  so  numerous  as  in  E^st  Texas, 
the  pines,  white  oaks,  gums,  chinquapins  and  some  others  being 
absent  in  the  parts  west  of  Red  River  County.  The  valley  can 
grow  all  that  East  Texas  can,  except  rice,  ribbon  cane  and  some 
tender  shrubs.  It  is  more  prolific  in  apples  and  grapes,  and  in 
those  fruits  it  quite  equals  northwest  Arkansas  and  southern 
Missouri.  The  beautiful  bluffs  and  small  tablelands  on  the 
Texas  side  of  the  Red  River  are  highly  adapted  to  fruit  and 
vegetable  growing  on  account  of  the  congeniality  and  variety  of 
soils  and  aspects  and  the  peculiar  immunity  from  late  frosts 
in  spring.  A  total  failure  of  the  peach  crop  on  the  Texas  side 
of  the  river  has  not  occurred  in  the  past  twenty-five  years.  The 
bottom  lands  of  the  Red  River,  which  arc  quite  wide,  are  as  fine 
as  any  in  the  world,  two  bales  of  cotton  per  acre  often  being 
made. 

This  mild  and  splendid  productive  fruit  belt  is  sandwiched 
between  the  extensive  "Black  Waxy"  lands  on  either  side,  the 


53  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

finest  grass,  grain  and  cotton  lands  (except  the  Red  River  bot- 
tom) in  the  southwest.  Contiguous  to  it  are  large  coal  areas 
yielding  coal  of  excellent  quality.  It  has  abundance  of  fine  tim- 
ber and  pure,  soft  well  water,  plenty  of  excellent  building  stone, 
brick  clay,  hydraulic  cement  materials  of  best  grade  and  other 
great  natural  resources.  These  make  this  region  capable  of  sup- 
porting a  dense  population,  which  it  is  rapidly  acquiring,  and  its 
agricultural  opportunities  are,  therefore,  excellent.  The  pros- 
perity and  growth  of  the  cities  of  Paris,  Bonham,  Sherman, 
Gainesville,  Henrietta,  Wichita  Falls  and  Denison  on  the  Texas 
side  and  Durant  and  Ardmore  on  the  territory  side,  ranging  in 
population  from  4,000  to  20,000,  testify  plainer  than  words  to 
the  advantages  of  this  region. 

4.     THE  BLACK  LAND  PRAIRIES. 

THIS  region  extends  from  the  northern  end  of  the  East  Texas 
forest  region,  250  miles  westward  to  Wichita  County, 
tending  from  the  Coastal  Plain  on  the  south  to  the  Red  River 
Valley  and  eastward  to  the  ninety-ninth  meridian. 

It  is  crossed  from  north  to  south  in  its  western  parts  by  two 
sandy  land  timber  belts,  known  as  the  Lower  (eastern)  and 
Upper  Cross  Timbers,  which  merge  into  the  Red  River  Valley 
near  its  western  end  and  have  Very  similar  soils  and  adaptabili- 
ties, with  a  dryer  and  less  equable  climate.  They  are  very 
broken  and  irregular  in  outline. 

Coursing  through  the  Black  Lands  from  northwest  to  south- 
east are  the  headwaters  of  the  Sulphur,  Sabine  and  Trinity  in  the 
northern  parts,  and  the  middle  parts  of  the  fine  rivers,  Brazos, 
Colorado,  Guadalupe  and  San  Antonio,  all  with  numerous  tribu- 
taries. Along  all  of  these  streams  a  great  variety  of  timber  and 
undergrowth  is  found,  and  the  streams  usually  are  bordered  with 
soils  finely  adapted  to  fruit  and  truck  growing. 

All  the  uplands  between  the  streams  of  this  region,  except 
the  Cross  Timbers,  the  hilly  country  bordering  the  Colorado  in 
several  counties  northwest  of  Austin  and  the  sandy  timbered 
belt  in  its  southern  parts,  mentioned  later,  are  beautiful,  gently 
rolling,  black  land  prairies.  Those  east  of  the  Lower  Cross 
Timbers  are  of  an  intensely  black,  sticky,  nature,  and  hence  are 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  53 

known  as  "The  Black  Waxy"  lands.  These  soils  are  generally 
very  deep  and  inexhaustibly  rich,  lying  upon  white,  chalky  lime 
rock  or  clay  foundations,  in  which  "hard  water"  is  generally 
obtained  in  wells  and  springs,  but  occasionally  good  "soft 
water"  is  found  in  local  gravel  and  sand  beds. 

Excellent  artesian  water  is  generally  reached  at  300 to  600  feet 
in  the  western  parts,  as  at  Fort  Worth,  and  at  greater  depths 
to  the  east  and  south.  These  waters  are  found  in  two  dif- 
ferent strata  of  coarse  sand,  the  upper  taking  its  name  from  the 
town  of  Paluxy  in  Hood  County,  where  it  outcrops,  and  the 
lower  from  Trinity  River,  on  the  headwaters  of  which,  in  the 
Upper  Cross  Timbers,  in  Montague,  Jack,  Palo  Pinto  and  East- 
land counties  it  outcrops.  A  great  "fault"  in  the  earth  trending 
from  Del  Rio  on  the  Rio  Grande,  through  San  Antonio,  New 
Braunfels,  San  Marcos,  Austin,  Waco,  with  the  down-throw  on 
the  southeast  side  of  the  "fault,"  allows  great  volumes  of  this 
artesian  water  to  escape  at  various  points,  as  at  the  places  just 
named,  even  to  the  extent  of  driving  large  mills  and  factories,  as 
at  New  Braunfels,  where  are  located  large  flouring  mills  and 
woolen  factories. 

Extending  through  the  Black  Lands  from  northeast  to 
southwest,  along  and  mostly  on  the  south  side  of  the  Interna- 
tional and  Great  Northern  Railway,  is  a  long  arm  of  sandv 
timbered  land,  similar  to  the  Cross  Timbers,  some  10  to  20 
miles  in  width,  extending  from  the  East  Texas  Forest  Region, 
as  a  prolongation  of  it,  far  to  the  southwest,  passing  San  An- 
tonio on  the  southeast.  The  timber,  however,  is  very  inferior 
to  that  of  East  Texas,  yet  it  furnishes  the  much-needed  wood 
for  the  great  prairies  bordering  it.  This  is  a  fine  fruit-belt  like 
the  similar  lands  of  the  State. 

The  Black  Lands  lying  south  of  this  long  arm  of  sandy  land 
and  bordering  directly  on  the  Coastal  Plain  are  flatter,  somewhat 
sandy,  underlaid  generally  with  a  "hard  pan"  of  "joint  clay," 
and  unless  drained  and  subsoiled  are  less  productive  than  the 
"Black  Waxy"  lands.  They  are  known  as  "Mesquite  Lands," 
being  thinly  set  with  mesquite  trees.  The  Black  Lands  lying 
between  and  westward  from  the  Cross  Timbers  are  more  or 
less  sandy,  more  rolling,  easier  to  work  and  less  drought  resist- 


54  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

ing  than  the  "Black  Waxy"  lands.  Grazing  is  more  extensive 
on  these  and  the  "Mesquite  Lands"  and  cotton  and  grain  pro- 
duction less  extensive  than  on  the  "Black  Waxy." 

In  the  hilly  region  of  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Black 
Lands  Region,  especially  in  Llano  County,  are  found  inex- 
haustible quantities  of  excellent  magnetite  iron  ore  and  fine 
building  stones,  such  as  granite,  marble,  etc.  In  the  far  south- 
western corner  of  this  remarkable  region  (in  Waldo  County)  are 
great  deposits  of  snow-white  kaolin  of  a  quality  pronounced 
by  experts  suitable  for  making  the  finest  grades  of  porcelain. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  Black  Lands  Region  from  north- 
east to  southwest  is  over  400  miles,  and  the  greatest  width  over 
200  miles.  A  glance  at  a  recent  railway  map  of  Texas  will  show  a 
dense  network  of  railways  upon  the  Black  Lands.  This  tells  more 
forcibly  than  words  of  the  immense  haulage  supplied  by  the  agri- 
cultural products  of  this  region.  Cotton,  corn,  wheat,  oats,  hay, 
cattle,  hogs,  horses,  mules,  sheep,  goats,  cottonseed  oil,  meal,  pe- 
troleum (at  Corsicana),  lime,  building  stones,  coal  (in  Eastland, 
Stephens,  Young  and  other  counties),  fruits  and  vegetables  are 
rapidly  making  the  Black  Lands  Region  very  wealthy,  as  evi- 
denced in  the  line  cities  of  San  Antonio,  Austin,  Waco,  Corsicana, 
Ennis,  Temple,  Hillsboro,  Fort  Worth,  Dallas,  Terrell,  Green- 
ville, McKinney,  Denton  and  the  Red  River  Valley  cities  hereto- 
fore mentioned,  which  draw  much  of  their  support  from  this 
region,  as  well  as  from  the  valley  and  Indian  Territory. 

The  Black  Lands  Region  varies  in  altitude  from  250  feet  in  the 
southeastern  parts  to  700  in  the  northern,  1,000  to  1,500  in  the 
western  and  even  to  2,000  feet  in  the  hilly,  mineral  region,  of 
which  Llano  County  is  the  center. 

The  average  rainfall  varies  from  50  inches  in  the  eastern  parts 
to  25  to  30  in  the  western.  The  rains  fall  mostly  in  May  and 
June,  when  most  needed. 

The  region  is  everywhere  healthful,  and  the  constant  breezes 
from  the  Gulf  in  summer  greatly  moderate  the  heat,  which  would 
otherwise  be  oppressive.  The  winters,  with  the  exception  of  an 
occasional  blizzard,  running  down  toward  zero  in  the  northern 
parts,  are  mild,  and  without  much  rain.'f 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  55 

5.     THE  NUECES  RIVER  REGION. 

THIS  region  is  a  triangle,  the  apex  of  which  is  San  Antonio, 
and  the  base  the  Rio  Grande,  from  about  Eagle  Pass,  in 
Maverick  County,  to  about  Rio  Grande  City,  in  Starr  County, 
The  triangle  thus  described  embraces  the  major  part  of  the  upper 
Nueces  Basin.  Its  longest  side,  resting  on  the  Rio  Grande,  is 
about  200  miles  in  length,  and  each  of  the  other  sides  is  somewhat 
more  than  150  miles  long. 

Its  altitude  is  from  250  feet  on  the  east  to  1,000  feet  or  more 
along  its  northern  boundary,  which  pretty  well  coincides  with  the 
"fault"  heretofore  mentioned,  in  connection  with  the  artesian 
waters  of  the  Black  Lands. 

The  rainfall  varies  from  30  inches  on  the  east  to  15  inches  on 
the  west.  It  is  semi-arid  and  semi-tropical,  yet  with  too  sudden 
and  severe  changes  to  allow  the  growth  of  oranges  in  open 
ground.  The  latitude  in  the  extreme  south  on  the  Rio  Grande 
is  26  degrees  and  the  northern  boundary  29^  degrees.  Although 
the  sun  shines  powerfully  from  almost  cloudless  skies,  the  perpet-. 
ual  breeze  from  the  Gulf  greatly  modifies  the  heat.  Figs  and 
European  grapes  succeed  well  everywhere  in  this  region,  especially 
with  irrigation,  which  is  applied  to  some  extent  from  the  big 
artesian  springs,  which  supply  enough  water  for  thousands  more 
acres.  More  extensive  irrigation,  however,  is  carried  on  along 
the  Rio  Grande,  as  at  Del  Rio,  Eagle  Pass  and  Laredo. 

The  grape  crop  matures  here  in  June — long  before  it  ripens 
elsewhere,  except  in  southern  Florida — and  the  expense  of  reach- 
ing the  great  northern  markets  is  small  in  comparison  with  that 
from  California.  By  grafting  the  finer  varieties  of  Vinifera 
upon  resistant  roots  they  can  be  perpetually  grown  in  the 
Nueces  Region  to  equal,  if  not  excel,  those  grown  in  California; 
and  the  industry  of  viticulture  can  be  very  extensively  and  profit- 
ably developed. 

The  large,  fine  Italian  onions  are  considerably  grown  near 
Laredo,  San  Antonio  and  other  places,  with  large  profits. 

The  main  occupation,  at  present,  of  the  scattered  population  of 
this  region  is  cattle  ranching,  a  la  Mexicano,  and  it  is  exclu- 
sively tributary  to  San  Antonio.     The  surface  of  the  country  is 


56  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

generally  quite  level  and  covered  with  a  low,  scattered,  thorny 
growth  of  shrubs,  with  good  grazing.  Shrubby  timber  fringes 
all  the  streams,  of  which  nearly  all  are  tributaries  of  the  Nueces 
River,  famous  for  its  pecans,  from  which  the  stream  derives  its 
name,  Nueces  (Spanish)  meaning  nuts.  The  soils  are  variable, 
some  being  dark  waxy,  some  sandy  and  some  chocolate. 

In  this  region  the  cutting  ant  is  numerous.  It  is  a  medium- 
sized,  large-headed  species,  and  burrows  extensively,  sometimes 
their  mounds  being  fifty  feet  or  more  in  diameter  and  two  or 
three  feet  high,  all  chambered.  The  ants  sally  forth  only  in 
the  night  in  armies  under  leaders,  and  defoliate  trees,  shrubs  and 
vines,  carrying  the  sections  of  leaves  in  their  mandibles  into  their 
burrows  for  food.  They  are  readily  exterminated  by  pouring 
liquid  bisulphide  of  carbon  into  their  burrows  and  stopping  the 
openings. 

In  this  region  nearly  every  one  speaks  both  English  and 
Spanish,  preferably  the  latter,  as  a  large  element  of  the  old  settlers 
and  their  descendants  are  of  Mexican  origin. 

Lands  are  cheap.  By  buying  large  tracts  and  colonizing  them 
with  industrious  French,  Germans  and  Americans  the  grape  in- 
dustry may  become  an  important  branch  of  agriculture,  as  the 
lands  are  rich,  the  climate  healthful  and  the  markets  of  the  best 
when  the  grapes  are  shipped  to  the  larger  Texas  and  northern 
cities. 

6.     THE  CHOCOLATE  PLAINS. 

THESE  adjoin  the  Black  Lands  on  the  west  and  north,  and 
extend  from  the  Pecos  River  on  the  southwest,  northwardly 
through  all  the  central  part  of  the  State  (usually  known  as  "West- 
ern Texas"),  up  through  the  eastern  half  of  the  "Texas  Panhan- 
dle," into  Oklahoma  and  Western  Kansas. 

The  altitude  varies  from  1,500  feet  in  the  south  (along  the  line 
of  faultage  heretofore  mentioned,  the  north  side  of  which  is 
several  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  south  side),  and  east;  to 
2,500  feet  in  the  northwest,  adjoining  the  "Staked  Plains." 

The  surface  is  undulating  prairie  on  uplands,  with  low,  thorny, 
scattered  shrubs  and  cacti  in  southern  parts  and  mesquite  in  all 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  57 

parts.  The  soil  generally  is  reddish-brown  in  color,  very  fine  in 
texture,  easily  powdering-  and  becoming  dusty  and  drifting  with 
the  wind  in  exposed  cultivated  lands,  but  packing  into  smooth, 
fine  roads  under  travel.  It  is  very  rich  in  elements  suitable  for 
vegetable  growth,  when  supplied  with  water. 

The  rainfall  varies  from  thirty  inches  in  the  eastern  parts  to 
about  ten  or  fifteen  inches  in  the  western.  Constant,  gentle  winds, 
chiefly  from  the  southeast  and  south,  quickly  carry  ofif  the  moist- 
ure, and  hence  the  semi-arid  character  of  the  climate. 

These  plains  are  drained  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Devil's, 
Nueces,  San  Antonio  and  Guadalupe  Rivers  on  the  south,  the 
Colorado  and  Brazos  in  the  center  and  the  Red  and  Canadian 
Rivers  in  the  northern  parts. 

Along  all  these  streams  are  timber  fringes,  chiefly  of  elm,  ash, 
hackberry  and  cottonwood.  The  short  but  very  nutritious  grasses 
native  to  the  soils  here  furnish  the  chief  source  of  wealth,  by 
feeding  many  thousands  of  cattle  in  the  great  ranches  found 
everywhere  in  this  vast  area,  which  varies  in  width  from  about 
100  miles  on  the  Panhandle  to  200  along  the  line  of  the 
Texas  &  Pacific  Railway,  and  is  500  miles  long.  From  stored 
water,  gathered  in  earth  dams  built  across  ravines,  stock-water  in 
part,  and  to  some  extent  water  for  irrigation,  especially  for 
gardens  on  the  ranches,  is  obtained.  By  this  means  irrigation 
may  be  greatly  extended.  Digging  wells  is  a  very  uncertain 
means  of  obtaining  water,  and  the  wells  which  give  water  are 
usually  deep. 

Cotton,  oats,  wheat,  sorghum  and  a  little  corn  are  produced 
in  the  eastern  parts.  Many  tree  and  vine  fruits  succeed  admirably 
with  irrigation,  and  even  without  irrigation  in  the  region  vv^atered 
by  the  upper  tributaries  of  the  Colorado,  as  rains  are  more  fre- 
quent and  abundant  there  than  in  other  parts. 

The  soil  is  naturally  very  drought-resisting,  and  with  storage- 
probably  become  less  arid  and  more  productive. 

There  are  great  salt  wells  at  Grand  Saline,  on  the  Texas  and 
Pacific  Railway,  from  which  considerable  salt  is  made  by  solar 
evaporation. 


58  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

7.     THE  STAKED  PLAINS. 

THE  Staked  Plains  lie  to  the  west  and  northwest  of  the 
Chocolate  Plains,  rising  above  them  precipitously  in  cliffs 
200  to  400  feet  high,  whose  margin  has  an  altitude  of  3,000  feet 
above  sea  level.  Thence  the  surface  gradually  rises  to  an  alti- 
tude of  over  4,000  feet.  The  surface  of  this  remarkable  tableland 
seems  to  the  eye  to  be  a  dead  level,  except  the  canyons,  deeply 
eroded  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Colorado,  Brazos,  Red  and 
Canadian  Rivers  along  its  eastern  borders. 

The  soil  is  a  dark,  rich  loam,  capable  of  growing  almost 
anything  where  watered.  Limited  irrigation  is  supplied  by 
windmills  pumping  from  driven  wells,  which  reach  abundance 
of  good  water  at  depths  of  ten  to  forty  feet.  The  average 
annual  rainfall  is  from  ten  to  fifteen  inches. 

There  are  numerous  small  lakes  found  on  the  plains,  espe- 
cially in  their  central  and  western  parts.  Some  of  them  are 
intensely  salty  and  have  pure  crystal  salt  many  feet  in  depth  in 
their  bottoms. 

The  Staked  Plains  plateau  is  about  150  miles  wide  and 
extends  from  latitude  31^  degrees  northward  into  Kansas  and 
Colorado — a  distance  of  about  500  miles. 

The  climate  is  very  salubrious,  but  the  winters  are  much 
more  severe  than  in  any  other  part  of  Texas,  the  temperature 
sometimes  falling  to  15  degrees  and  even  20  degrees  below 
zero. 

Cattle  raising  is  the  only  commerical  industry.  The  herds 
find  winter  protection  in  the  canyons. 

8.     IRRIGATED    LANDS    OF    THE    PECOS 
AND    RIO    GRANDE. 

THE  narrow  valley  of  the  Pecos  River  between  latitude  31 
and  32  degrees  in  Texas  is  partly  under  irrigation  and 
grows  alfalfa,  grains,  grasses  and  fruits,  especially  foreign 
grapes,  to  great  perfection  and  profit.    A  vineyard  at  Barstow, 


AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS.  69 

of   forty   acres   in  extent,   has   produced   very   fine   crops   for 
several  years,  having  never  sufifered  from  attack  of  phylloxera. 

The  foreign  vines  require  a  covering  (it  is  usually  of  soil)  to 
protect  them  through  the  winter.  Outlets  to  market  are  found 
through  the  Texas  &  Pacific  Railway  and  Pecos  &  North  Texas 
Railway.    Grapes  ripen  in  this  valley  in  August. 

The  bottom  lands  of  the  Rio  Grande  on  the  Texas  side 
from  El  Paso  to  some  fifty  miles  below  to  Fort  Hancock  on 
the  Southern  Pacific  Railway  are  similar  to  the  Pecos  City  and 
Barstow  region,  with  climate  milder  and  more  arid,  and  about 
the  same  products  are  raised,  which  find  a  market  in  El  Paso 
and  the  cities  of  eastern  Texas  or  the  north. 

9.     THE  TRANS-PECOS  ARID  REGION. 

THIS  section  occupies  all  that  extensive  triangle  lying  be- 
tw^een  the  Pecos  and  Rio  Grande  south  of  New  Mexico, 
excepting  the  mesa  lands  in  Jeft  Davis,  Brewster  and  El  Paso 
counties,  and  the  mountains  extending  above  them,  noticed 
separately  in  the  next  section. 

The  Arid  Region  is  excessively  dry  and  hot,  yet  there  is 
a  short,  nutritious  grass  in  nearly  all  parts  of  it  upon  which 
numerous  deer  and  antelope  feed.  Sometimes  as  many  as  100 
in  a  band  are  seen. 

The  altitude  varies  from  2,000  feet  on  the  lower  Pecos  to 
5,000  in  the  central  and  northern  parts.  The  valleys  and  low 
mountain  ranges  are  generally  waterless  to  such  an  extent  that 
stock-water  cannot  be  obtained  except  in  a  few  favored  locali- 
ties, and  these  are  the  seats  of  the  few  ranches  of  this  region. 
Here  are  the  only  wastelands  of  any  extent  in  the  State. 


MANY  of  the  data  embodied  in  this  report,  particularly 
those  of  Section  IV.,  have  been  supplied  by  F.  V. 
Munson,  Esq.,  whose  intimate  knowledge  of  the  agricultural 
conditions  of  Texas  is  derived  from  a  minute  personal  obser- 


60  AGRICULTURAL  CONDITIONS. 

vation  and  professional  study,  covering  more  than  twenty-five 
years  and  extending  to  every  part  of  the  State.  Special 
acknowledgments  are  due  to  Mr.  Munson  for  his  courteous  and 
valuable  aid,  and  the  very  considerable  labor  which  he  devoted  to 
collecting  material  for  the  committee. 

I  am  also  indebted  to  State  officials  and  to  many  individuals 
for  published  reports  and  monographs,  and  for  data  given 
verbally ;  and  to  several  officials  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture,  Geological  Survey  and  Library  of  Congress, 

Respectfully  submitted, 

S.  Cristy  Mead,  Chairman. 
New  York,  Nov.  1,  1901. 


1 

2 

3 
4 

5 
6 


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THE   MINERAL   RESOURCES 
OF   TEXAS. 


I. 

OIL. 


OIL  is  found  at  Beaumont  at  depths  varying  from  965  to  1,250 
feet.  The  strata  passed  through  are  loosely  aggregated 
sandstone.  More  or  less  difficulty  has  been  experienced  in  the 
boring,  and  in  most  cases  "telescoping"  has  been  necessary.  The 
rotary  drill  is  in  general  use. 

The  character  of  the  oil  is  entirely  different  from  the  Penn- 
sylvania product,  the  Pennsylvania  oil  having  a  paraffine  base, 
while  the  Texas  oil  has  an  asphaltum  base.  The  Texas  oil  is 
essentially  a  fuel  oil,  as  shown  by  the  analysis  appended  hereto, 
which  was  made  by  Mr.  Charles  H.  White,  of  Cambridge,  Mass., 
for  Mr.  Thomas  Crimmins,  of  New  York.  Other  analyses  are 
practically  identical  with  the  one  submitted.  It  will  be  seen  that 
the  Texas  oil  furnishes  only  about  25  per  cent,  of  its  volume  in 
illuminating  oil. 

Nine  of  the  wells  bored  at  Beaumont  have  been  spouting  wells, 
locally  known  as  "gushers."  The  oil  is  thrown  in  a  spray  to  a 
height  of  100  feet  or  more,  when  the  well  is  uncapped.  These 
gushers  have  all  been  brought  under  control,  and  it  is  quite  prob- 
lematical how  long  they  would  remain  gushers  if  uncapped  and 
given  a  chance  to  "gush." 

The  capacity  of  these  wells  is  remarkable ;  single  wells  having 
by  actual  measurement  flowed  72,000  barrels  in  one  day.  The  oil 
pool  is  evidently  deep,  and  the  quantity  of  oil  very  considerable. 
A  matter  of  great  interest,  however,  is  the  fact  that  all  the  produc- 
ing wells  near  Beaumont  are  located  on  one  single  IGO-acre  tract. 


72 


MINERAL  RESOURCES. 


RESULTS   OF   A   TEST    OF   BEAUMONT   OIL. 

By  Charles  H.   White,   Cambridge,  Mass. 


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Crude  oil 

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.875 

24° 

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Dark 

Light  oil  distilled  at 
150°  C 

5.0 

25.4 

32.0 
37.6 

12.8 
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Green 
Colorless 

Illuminating   oil   dis- 
tilled at  150°-250°  C. 

Lubricating    oil    dis- 
tilled at  250°-300°  C. 

81° 

178° 

Straw 
Amber 

Residue 

Residue    by    "crack- 
ing"*  

Illuminating  and   lu- 
bricating    oil     by 
"cracking" 

Black 

*  Cracking;  distilling  at  high  temperature  with  outlet  far  removed  from  boiling 
liquid,  so  that  distillate  condenses  and  drops  back  in  hot  surface,  thus  breaking  it  up 
into  lighter  oil. 


MINERAL  RESOURCES.  73 

It  was  the  opinion  of  my  drill  man  that  if  all  the  wells  were  un- 
capped they  would  cease  to  gush  within  twenty  days. 

Other  outlying  districts  have  been  discovered,  namely,  Sour 
Lake,  and  over  the  Louisiana  line,  and  prospecting  for  oil  has 
been  greatly  stimulated.  Reports  of  small  amounts  having  been 
found  come  from  almost  every  section  of  the  State. 

Without  doubt,  the  fuel  oil  industry  in  Texas  is  without  a 
rival  and  bids  fair  to  effect  economic  changes  in  the  various  manu- 
facturinsf  industries  of  the  State. 


II. 
ARTESIAN  AND  MINERAL  WATERS. 

RECENT  official  reports  show  that  every  section  of  the  State 
has  its  mineral  springs  or  wells.  Of  these,  the  mineral 
wells  in  Palo  Pinto  County  are  perhaps  the  most  famous.  In 
variety  and  quantity  it  is  probable  that  no  State  in  the  Union 
equals  Texas  in  mineral  waters. 

Of  the  springs,  those  at  Lampasas  are  the  largest.  They  burst 
forth  from  the  ground  and  form  the  great  body  of  the  water  of 
the  Lampasas  River.  Other  famous  springs  are  the  Carrizo,  in 
Dimmit  County ;  Sour  Lake,  in  Newton  County ;  Sutherland 
Springs,  in  Wilson  County ;  Wootan  Wells,  in  Robertson 
County ;  Sulphur  Springs,  in  Hopkins  County ;  Hughes  Springs, 
in  Cass  County ;  Salado  Springs,  in  Bell  County,  and  Burdett's 
Well,  in  Caldwell  County. 

The  artesian  wells  of  this  State  flow  above  ground  and  sup- 
ply the  water  systems  for  some  of  the  cities  and  towns.  Their 
daily  capacity  varies  from  75,000  to  300,000  gallons  a  day,  and 
they  have  a  temperature  varying  from  90  degrees  to  the  boiling 
point. 

The  wells  at  Waco  have  an  average  depth  of  about  1,800  feet. 
The  wells  to  the  east  are  much  shallower,  while  those  to  the  west 
are  deeper. 

Numerous  minerals  have  been  encountered  in  sinking  these 
wells,  but  as  yet  none  of  commercial  value  have  been  exposed. 


74  MINERAL  RESOURCES. 

Probably  the  most  famous  of  the  artesian  wells  is  at  Marlin. 
The  water  is  hot,  and  has  various  medicinal  properties,  and,  in 
consequence,  the  little  city  of  Marlin,  in  Falls  County,  has  be- 
come one  of  the  great  health  resorts  of  the  trans-Missouri  country. 


III. 
BUILDING  STONES. 


OUR  committee  was  next  brought  into  contact  with  the  min- 
eral resources  of  the  State  at  Marble  Falls.  The  granite 
quarries  of  the  Texas  Improvement  Company  are  of  great  extent, 
and  the  stone  of  excellent  quality.  The  colors  vary  from  red  to 
light  gray.  A  series  of  tests  made  at  the  Rock  Island  Arsenal  by 
the  United  States  Government  and  certified  to  the  Texas  State 
officials,  show  a  crushing  strength  for  the  granite  of  11,482 
pounds  to  the  square  inch,  which,  if  correct,  places  this  stone  at 
the  head  of  all  building  granites  for  resistance  to  crushing.  The 
State  Capitol,  the  great  dam  across  the  Colorado  River  at  Austin 
and  the  jetties  at  Galveston  are  constructed  of  the  red  granite  of 
Burnet. 

While  our  committee  visited  the  counties  of  Llano  and  Burnet 
only,  this  granite  is  said  to  be  found  in  Blanco  County,  the  colors 
being  red,  blue  and  yellow. 

Marble,  slate  and  lithograph  stone  also  exist  in  Burnet,  but  no 
sufficient  tests  have  been  made  to  warrant  statements  as  to  their 
value  and  character.  The  marbles  of  Brewster  County  are  of  the 
black  and  variegated  varieties,  and  are  said  to  equal  any  on  the 
continent. 

A  number  of  samples  of  iron  ore  were  seen  in  Llano,  compris- 
ing the  specular  and  magnetite  varieties.  The  product  of  pig 
iron  in  Texas  in  1898  is  stated  at  5,178  tons ;  in  1899,  5,803  tons, 
and  in  1900,  10,150  tons.  It  is  said  that  considerable  iron  ore  has 
been  shipped  from  Iron  IMountain,  in  Llano  County,  to  Birming- 
ham, Alabama,  and  this,  after  hauling  thirteen  miles  over  wagon 
roads.  Iron  ore  appears  to  exist  in  large  quantities  in  Llano, 
Cherokee  and  Cass  counties. 


MINERAL  RESOURCES.  75 

IV. 
GOLD  AND  SILVER. 

IT  has  been  my  fortune,  or  misfortune,  to  examine  a  great 
many  gold  and  silver  mines  in  the  State  of  Texas.  The  result 
of  twenty  years'  experience  convinces  me  that  the  precious 
metals  do  not  exist  in  paying  quantities  in  Texas,  except  in 
those  western  counties  bordering  on  New  Mexico  and  the  Rio 
Grande  River.  The  total  output  of  the  State  is  said  to  be  about 
$900,000,  nearly  all  of  which  is  silver. 

V. 
COPPER. 

THERE  are  many  indications  of  copper  in  Texas,  and  in 
Llano  County  these  fully  justify  exploration.  Archer  and 
Baylor  Counties  have  produced  a  small  amount  of  surface  ore 
within  the  past  twenty  years,  but  thus  far  nothing  of  value  has 
been  found.  In  1881  I  purchased  the  output  of  Archer  and 
Baylor  Counties,  and  treated  it  at  the  St.  Genevieve  Copper 
Works  in  Missouri,  of  which  I  was  then  manager.  The  ores 
were  insignificant  in  quantity,  amounting  to  only  167  sacks, 
weighing  in  all  about  thirty  tons,  but  were  exceptionally  rich, 
returning  about  60  per  cent,  metallic  copper. 

VL 
COAL. 

NO  opportunity  was  given  the  committee  for  personal  ex- 
amination of  the  coal  mines.  The  following  statements 
are,  therefore,  compiled  from  various  sources,  and  from  the 
work  done  by  the  writer  in  previous  years. 

Texas  produced  no  coal  in  1880.  In  1890  the  output  was 
128,216  tons,  and  in  1900,  1,013,000  tons.  The  largest  pro- 
ducing mine  is  that  at  Thurber  on  the  Texas  Pacific  Railroad, 
on  the  line  of  Erath  and  Palo  Pinto  Counties. 

Those  at  Laredo,  Rockdale  and  near  Calvert  in  Robertson 
County  are  said  to  be  doing  a  profitable  business,  and  are  of 
growing  importance.  Coleman  and  McCulloch  Counties  are 
also  said  to  be  underlaid  with  coal,  but  are  undeveloped.  It 
has  been  estimated  that  the  coal  area  of  Texas  embraces  40,000 


76  MINERAL  RESOURCES. 

square  miles,  and  extends  from  the  Red  River  as  far  southward 
as  Laredo. 

Indications  of  natural  gas  are  found  in  many  places,  and 
the  gas  is  utilized  to  some  extent  on  some  Brazos  plantations 
near  Hearne,  in  Robertson  County. 

In  1883  the  writer  examined  the  coal  lands  of  the  Franco- 
Texan  Coal  Company,  covering,  Stevens,  Palo  Pinto  and  East- 
land Counties.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  coal  beds  oc- 
cur in  the  Permian,  and  are  not  true  coals,  but  lignite.  I  am 
also  of  the  opinion  that  the  others  coals  in  the  State  are  of  the 
same  character,  as  I  have  been  unable  to  find  the  true  coal 
measures  as  far  as  my  investigations  went. 

VII. 
GYPSUM. 

THE  gypsum  beds  of  northwest  Texas  are  said  to  be  the 
most  extensive  in  the  world.  The  only  use  now  being 
made  of  them  is  the  manufacture  of  a  superior  quality  of  plaster. 
Your  committee  did  not  visit  these  deposits. 

VIII. 
CONCLUSION. 

TEXAS  is  a.  State  of  such  magnificent  distances — an  empire 
within  itself — that  a  proper  investigation  of  its  mineral 
resources  would  require  not  a  few  days  but  a  few  years.  It 
would  require  considerable  hardihood  to  definitely  state  that 
any  mineral  is  lacking.  On  the  other  hand  the  idea  of  this 
report  is  to  publish  to  the  world  known  facts  rather  than  specu- 
lations. 

In  every  section  we  found  a  vast  amount  of  matter  indicat- 
ing the  existence  of  the  various  economic  minerals,  and  in 
almost  every  section  it  seems  to  me  that  further  exploration 

is  warranted. 

Very  respectfully  submitted, 

Frank  Nicholson,  Chairman, 

Thomas  Crimmins, 

H.  A.  Metz, 

Committee  on  Mineral  Resources. 

New  York,  Nov.  1.  1901. 


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THE  FOREST  RESOURCES  AND  LUMBER 
INDUSTRY  OF  TEXAS. 


THE  forest  resources  of  Texas  comprise  a  large  area  of 
dense  pine  forests  and  a  lesser  area  of  hardwood  forests, 
intermingled  with  various  softwood  timber  trees,  which,  to- 
gether make  up  a  distinctively  lumber-producing  region  of  great 
economic  importance;  a  larger  area,  whose  forest  growth  is 
mainly  in  narrow  fringes  along  the  watercourses,  and  too 
limited  in  exten*^  to  support  any  but  a  local  and  temporary  lumber 
industry;  and  considerable  belts  of  stunted  timber  of  little  eco- 
nomic value,  being  unsuitable  for  manufacturing  uses,  and  valu- 
able only  for  posts,  rough  beams  or  poles  and  fuel. 

The  limits  of  these  several  areas  are  shown  approximately  by 
the  accompanying  chart.  Outside  of  the  great  forest  region  of 
Eastern  Texas  the  forest  products  are  very  minor  elements  of 
the  aggregate  natural  resources.  The  timber  supply  is  not 
sufficient  to  develop  any  commercially  important  industry  on  a 
large  scale,  although  some  woodworking  industries  may  find  a 
profitable  local  field.  Only  a  limited  quantity  of  hardwood  is 
available,  and  it  cannot  be  economically  converted  into  timber 
OF  lumber  because  of  its  scattered  growth  and  the  consequent 
relatively  large  cost  of  logging.  The  forest  products  of  these 
regions,  therefore,  although  of  great  economic  value  for  local  use, 
are  of  small  value  commercially  in  the  wide  sense  of  that  term. 
Exceptions  are  those  varieties  of  trees  which  supply  timbers  for 
restricted  special  uses,  and  which  are  either  of  narrow  range  or 
very  widely  scattered  growth.  Examples  are  live-oak,  of  dense 
growth  but  confined  to  narrow  areas  and  in  limited  non-local  de- 
mand for  ship  timbers ;  and  hickory,  widely  distributed,  but  no- 
where plentiful,  requisite  for  certain  industries  and  obtainable 
only  by  gleaning  everywhere. 


78  FORESTS  AND  LUMBER. 

The  streams  of  the  eastern  coastal  plain  are  bordered  by  a 
heavy  growth  of  timber  of  various  kinds.  To  the  west  live-oak 
predominates,  the  growth  progressively  becomes  less  dense,  de- 
creases to  scattering  groups  and  single  trees,  and  finally  ceases 
entirely  at  the  Colorado  River. 

The  timber  growth  of  the  prairie  zone  is  that  characteristic 
of  all  true  prairie  lands,  namely,  scattering  groups  of  trees 
of  many  varieties,  very  open  except  in  bottom  lands  and 
seldom  of  great  extent — conditions  opposite  to  those  of  true 
forest  regions,  where  continuous  density  is  the  rule.  The  wooded 
areas  become  less  frequent  and  the  variety  and  size  of  the  trees 
decreases  as  the  central  plains  region  is  approached. 

Throughout  that  great  expanse  forest  growth  is  very  scanty, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  belts  called  the  Cross-Timbers, 
is  confined  to  narrow  and  broken  fringes  in  the  valleys.  There 
are  almost  no  valuable  timber  trees  in  this  region,  most  of  the 
Cross-Timbers  growth  being  scrub,  useful  only  for  fuel,  while 
the  taller  growth  in  the  bottoms  is  of  cottonwood,  pecan  and  simi- 
lar varieties  not  useful  for  lumber  or  timber.  The  so-called  Cross- 
Timbers  are  two  parallel  belts  about  50  miles  wide,  extending 
southward  from  the  Red  River  Valley  about  150  miles  into  the 
central  plain. 

The  eastern  portion  of  Texas  is  a  true  forest  region,  covered 
with  dense  and  almost  continuous  growth  over  an  area  whose 
extension  north  and  south  is  about  300  miles  and  whose 
maximum  width  is  150  miles  near  the  southern  extremity,  de- 
creasing to  less  than  100  miles  on  the  north.  Somewhat  more 
than  half  of  this  region — the  southern  part — bears  upon  the  up- 
lands a  dense  pine  forest,  comprising  the  several  varieties  of 
yellow  pine  indigenous  to  southern  latitudes,  and  intermingled 
upon  the  lower  slopes  and  bottoms  with  a  great  variety  of  other 
trees,  including  oak,  elm,  maple,  gum,  poplar,  hickory,  pecan, 
walnut,  magnolia,  etc.  These  forests  have  very  great  economic 
value,  by  reason  of  the  density  of  growth,  size  and  quality  of 
the  trees  and  the  great  quantity  accessible  from  any  given  point. 
Moreover,  the  conditions  necessary  for  cheap  and  profitable 
development  are  peculiarly  favorable,  the  elevation  being  consid- 
erable, with  numerous  watercourses,  whose  ample  and  persistent 
volume  afliords  a  maximum  of  water  transit  and  makes  the  pro- 
portion of  haulage  relatively  small. 


FORESTS  AND  LUMBER.  79 

Toward  the  northern  part  of  the  forest  region  the  pine  growth 
gradually  gives  place  in  large  measure  to  other  varieties,  among 
which  the  producers  of  valuable  cabinet  woods  predominate,  in- 
cluding maple,  walnut,  oak,  ash,  beech,  elm,  gum,  sycamore,  hic- 
kory, poplar  and  others.  In  fact,  the  entire  region  comprehending 
the  southern  slopes  of  the  Osage  highlands,  the  central  part  of  the 
Red  River  Valley  and  the  uplands  about  the  sources  of  the  Sabine 
River,  is  among  the  richest,  most  varied  and  most  prolific  forest 
regions  in  the  United  States. 

Portions  of  this  great  forest  area  are  underlaid  by  valuable 
deposits  of  iron  ore,  and  as  the  smaller  timber  will  supply  an 
abundance  of  charcoal  fuel,  the  lumber  industry  may  be  readily 
supplemented  by  mining  and  iron  smelting,  the  economic  condi- 
tions being  favorable  to  both. 

Within  very  recent  memory  the  State  of  Michigan  was  the 
great  lumber-producing  State  of  the  country.  To-day  Michigan 
stands  practically  cleared  of  its  white  pine,  and  the  men  v^ho 
were  operating  actively  have  gone  but  lately  to  Canada,  Minne- 
sota and  the  Pacific  Coast  States.  The  amount  of  white  pine 
cut  each  year  steadily  increases,  and  to-day  the  lumberman  who 
looks  furthest  into  the  future  finds  himself  confronted  with  a 
very  serious  question  as  to  the  future  lumber  supply,  for  on  the 
best  obtainable  estimates,  at  the  present  rate  of  cutting  the  sup- 
ply of  white  pine  in  this  country  and  Canada  will  last  only  about 
fifteen  years  more. 

Of  late  years  many  large  lumber  interests  have  been  turning 
their  attention  to  the  South  as  a  profitable  field  for  investment, 
and  the  opening  up  of  new  territory  by  increased  railroad 
facilities  has  greatly  increased  the  yearly  production  of  lumber 
in  the  various  Southern  yellow-pine  States. 

Lack  of  labor  and  inaccessibility  of  the  forest  lands  are 
difficulties  in  the  way  of  operating  the  lumber  fields  in 
most  of  the  Southern  States.  The  latter  difficulty  is  less  in 
the  State  of  Texas  than  in  many  others.  It  is  estimated  that 
in  the  Texas  forest  region  there  are  some  seventy  billion  feet  of 
standing  timber.  To  a  very  large  extent  this  timber  is  made 
accessible  by  good  logging  streams,  which  open  up  the  country 
very  cheaply,  although  the  railroad  facilities  are  scanty.  The 
result  of  this  has  already  begun  to  show  itself,  and  to-day  Texas 


80  FORESTS  AND  LUMBER. 

has  some  of  the  best-equipped  and  most  modern  sawmills  in  the 
country,  from  which  mills  the  product  of  the  log  is  turned  out  at 
a  cost  comparing  very  favorably  with  the  best  equipped  mills 
of  the  North.  These  mills  being  located,  as  a  rule,  practically  on 
the  seaboard,  afford  very  favorable  means  of  water  shipment  to 
any  part  of  the  country  or  the  world.  Speaking  from  a  stand- 
point of  physical  conditions,  there  would  seem  to  be  no  reason 
why  the  State  of  Texas,  so  far  as  yellow  pine  is  concerned, 
should  not  occupy  in  the  Southern  States  the  commanding  posi- 
tion that  the  State  of  Michigan  used  to  occupy  among  the  white- 
pine  producing  States. 

To  conduct  a  lumbering  business  profitably  requires  the  pur- 
chase of  a  large  area  of  timber  lands  and  a  proper  equipment, 
which  demands  the  investment  of  a  large  amount  of  money ;  and 
the  ordinary  business  man,  as  a  rule,  is  very  careful  of  the  con- 
ditions under  which  such  an  investment  is  made.  Any  feeling, 
however  intangible  it  might  be,  to  the  eflfect  that  the  legislation 
or  sentiment  of  a  given  State  is  inimical  or  hostile  in  any  way 
to  vested  rights,  would  make  the  average  business  man  hesitate 
and  perhaps  refrain  entirely  from  investing.  The  natural  re- 
sources of  Texas  as  a  lumber  State  are  very  hard  to  equal  in  this 
country ;  and  the  natural  conditions  seem  to  be  very  attractive 
for  the  investment  of  capital.  But  the  great  capital  necessary  to 
operate  a  large  lumbering  plant  to  the  best  advantage  cannot 
easily  be  brought  together  except  in  the  corporate  form,  and 
legislation  hostile  to  foreign  corporations  must  necessarily  tend 
to  discourage  them  from  subjecting  themselves  to  it.  Whether 
true  or  false,  the  belief  is  widely  current  that  public  sentiment 
in  Texas  deems  the  corporate  form  of  capital  harmful  to  the 
public  welfare,  and  therefore  worthy  of  severe  restrictions  and 
penalties  with  which  other  forms  of  capital  are  not  burdened. 
Moreover,  corporate  capital  from  without  the  State  is  supposed 
to  be  regarded  by  that  public  sentiment,  not  as  an  instrument 
for  multiplying  the  riches  of  the  State,  but  on  the  contrary  for 
abstracting  them  and  taking  them  away,  and,  therefore,  to  be 
impeded  as  much  as  possible  by  severe  and  discriminative  tax- 
ation. 

Beyond  question  this  belief,  no  matter  whether  prejudiced  or 
well  founded,  has  deterred  investment  in  Texas  and  materially 
hampered  its  development  by  leaving  it  dependent  upon  its  in- 


FORESTS  AND  LUMBER.  81 

sufficient  home  capital.  There  can  be  httle  doubt  that  a  policy 
of  wise  encouragement  in  the  form  of  liberal  taxing  laws,  non- 
discrimination against  corporate  capital,  and  reasonable  special 
privileges,  immunities  or  franchises  as  a  guarantee  against  the 
hazards  of  new  enterprises,  would  result  in  a  great  influx  of  capi- 
tal to  develop  the  enormous  natural  resources  of  the  State  of 
Texas.  Among  the  most  inviting  of  the  fields  whose  develop- 
ment awaits  that  influx  of  capital,  the  lumbering  industry  stands 

with  the  first. 

Respectfully  submitted. 

W.  H.  Gratwick, 
Committee  on  Lumber. 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  1, 1901. 


NEn 


n 


HEALTH    CONDITIONS  AND   CLIMATE 
OF  TEXAS. 


I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 


IN  considering  the  question  of  public  health  in  such  an  exten- 
sive territory  as  that  covered  by  the  State  of  Texas  a  large 
number  and  variety  of  circumstances  call  for  notice.  In  the 
first  place  there  are  purely  natural  conditions  which  are  insepa- 
rably connected  with  the  country,  such  as  result  from  latitude, 
geography  and  climate.  In  the  second  place  we  may  expect  to 
find  circumstances  which  modify  these  natural  conditions,  such 
as  public  work,  laws  and  other  governances  for  the  regulation  of 
public  health.  Although  modifying  circumstances  are  not  of 
conspicuous  importance  in  assisting  the  natural  tendencies  of 
health  in  the  territory  under  consideration,  it  is  true  of  Texas  as 
of  other  great  commonwealths  that  public  health  cannot  be  wholly 
satisfactory  without  the  harmonious  operation  of  these  two  great 
factors. 


II. 

NATURAL  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATIC  CONDITIONS. 


THE  principal  health  conditions  which  are  natural  to  Texas 
arise  both  from  circumstances  which  lie  strictly  within  the 
State  and  others  which  result  from  her  position  with  respect  to 
outside  territory. 


V 


84  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 

Considered  without  respect  to  outside  influences,  Texas  pre- 
sents a  great  variety  of  natural  conditions. 

SECTIONAL  CHARACTERISTICS. 

THE  coast  line  is  low  and  flat,  extending  back  from  50  to  100 
miles  before  it  attains  an  elevation  of  250  feet.  For  ten 
months  or  more  each  year  the  winds  blow  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  and,  in  consequence,  changes  of  temperature  are  slight, 
but  there  is  considerable  humidity.  Diseases  of  the  respiratory 
organs  and  those  associated  with  excretion  and  malaria  are 
among  those  most  prevalent. 

In  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State,  bordering  on  the  Red  River, 
the  land  is  also  low.  Here  the  rainfall  attains  its  maximum  for 
the  State  of  Texas.  Conditions  of  drainage  are  similar  to  those 
of  the  Gulf  coast,  without  the  advantages  which  result  there 
from  reduced  temperature  variations.  In  the  northeast  the 
mortality  is  higher  than  for  any  other  part  of  the  State,  illness 
being  most  common  from  malaria,  diseases  of  the  throat  and 
lungs  and  of  the  nervous  and  digestive  systems. 

Proceeding  from  the  coast  and  eastern  borders  toward  the 
northwest  the  natural  conditions  of  health  in  Texas  rapidly  im- 
prove. So  far  as  is  known,  the  circumstances  which  favor 
illness  are  practically  absent  in  the  Great  Plains  and  elevated 
portions  of  the  State. 

As  regards  altitude  it  may  be  said  that  the  general  slope  of  the 
land  is  toward  the  northwest.  A  contour  line  of  1,000  feet  eleva- 
tion divides  the  State  into  two  nearly  equal  parts,  there  being 
no  point  above  that  level  to  the  east  or  south  and  no  point 
below  it  to  the  north  or  west.  The  1,000-foot  contour  runs 
south  from  the  Red  River  to  Austin  and  from  Austin  in  a  south- 
westerly curve  to  Del  Rio  on  the  Rio  Grande.  The  most 
fertile  part  of  the  State,  and  the  section  of  greatest  rural  popu- 
lation, lies  at  an  elevation  of  from  400  to  700  feet.  Many  large 
cities  are  situated  between  these  altitudes.  The  prevailing 
winds  blow  from  the  south,  and  to  some  extent  carry  the  ad- 
vantage which  is  given  to  the  coast  land  by  the  governing  char- 
acter which  the  warm  waters  of  the  Gulf  exercise  upon  the 
temperature  of  the  air.     The  country  has  good  natural  drainage 


HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE.  86 

and  the  water  supplies  are  favorable  to  health.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting mark  of  the  business  perspicacity  of  the  people  of  this 
region  that  the  cities  in  East  Central  Texas  bear  evidence  of 
greater  care  in  sanitary  administration  than  is  generally  found 
elsewhere.  The  types  of  disease  which  have  been  mentioned 
as  occurring  upon  the  coast  and  most  prevalent  in  the  north- 
eastern part  of  Texas  are  not  common  in  the  area  under  con- 
sideration. 

A  second  contour  Hne,  and  one  which  has  a  uniform  eleva- 
tion of  2,000  feet  above  the  sea,  extends  from  the  eastern  border 
of  the  Panhandle  in  a  southeasterly  direction  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Pecos.  The  slope  of  the  land  is  irregular,  and  there  are 
numerous  rivers  running  in  deep  valleys.  There  are  less  than 
one-tenth  the  number  of  persons  to  the  square  mile  on  land 
lying  between  1,000  and  2,000  feet  above  tidewater  than  below  it. 
The  main  occupation  of  the  people  is  cattle  raising.  The  drain- 
age and  climate  are  favorable  to  health. 

A  third  contour,  3,000  feet  above  the  sea,  cuts  diagonally 
across  the  Panhandle  in  a  southwesterly  direction.  This  is  the 
area  of  the  Great  Plains,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  semi- 
arid  country.  Near  the  3,000-foot  contour  most  of  the  great 
rivers  of  Texas  take  their  source.  In  the  northwest  the  soil 
consists  largely  of  gypsum  and  the  population  is  very  scant. 
Very  little  is  known  about  the  health  conditions. 

TEMPERATURES. 

FROM  what  has  been  said  it  is  to  be  inferred  that  tempera- 
tures in  Texas  depend  largely  upon  geographical  position, 
elevation  and  especially  distance  from  the  Gulf.  Beginning  in 
the  northwestern  corner,  at  Hartley,  the  annual  average  tem- 
perature is  54.7  degrees  Fahrenheit.  From  this  point  the 
temperature  increases  gradually,  until  the  coast  is  reached, 
where  the  average  for  the  year  is  20  degrees  warmer.  Run- 
ning parallel  with  the  coast,  lines  of  equal  temperature  may  be 
drawn,  their  distance  apart  being  generally  about  forty-three 
miles  for  each  change  of  one  degree.  In  winter  the  tempera- 
ture in  the  north  may  be  27  degrees  lower  than  in  the  south, 
while  in  summer  the  difference  is  seldom  greater  than  from 


86  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 

3  to  8  degrees.     The  average  summer  temperature  for  the  State 
is  from  78  to  84  degrees. 

The  first  killing  frost  occurs  in  North  Texas  in  the  middle 
of  October,  but  in  the  south  it  is  not  expected  until  about 
Christmas  time.  The  last  killing  frost  seldom  occurs  after  the 
first  of  April  in  the  northwest,  while  in  the  south  it  is  not 
expected  later  than  the  first  of  February.  Winters  in  Southern 
Texas  are  very  mild,  frost  seldom  lasting  over  a  day  or  two, 
and  on  the  immediate  coast  it  has  occurred  only  five  times  in 
twenty-four  years. 

IRREGULARITIES  OF  CLIMATE. 

ECCENTRICITIES  of  climate,  such  as  droughts,  tornadoes 
and  floods  are  not  as  frequent  in  Texas  as  in  some  other 
parts  of  the  great  Southwest.  Of  the  five  extensive  droughts 
which  were  experienced  in  the  United  States  from  1870  to  1890, 
three  did  not  visit  Texas;  the  other  two  appear  to  have  been 
less  severe  there  than  elsewhere.  In  a  Hst  of  fifty-eight  of  the 
most  destructive  tornadoes  which  occurred  in  America  from 
1872  to  1890,  only  three  are  noted  as  having  been  felt  in  the 
State. 

Rainfall  in  Texas  is  not  always  a  reliable  feature  of  climate. 
In  a  large  part  of  the  State,  particularly  in  the  south  and  east, 
there  is  usually  an  abundance  of  rain  as  reckoned  by  an  annual 
average.  Most  of  the  precipitation  occurs  in  heavy  showers  and 
the  distribution  of  rain  during  the  season  when  it  is  most 
needed  by  crops  is  liable  to  fluctuations.  There  is,  however, 
usually  no  trouble  from  droughts,  as  previously  noted.  Over, 
perhaps,  one-half  the  State  the  evaporation  equals  or  exceeds 
the  annual  and  seasonal  rainfall.  A  feature  of  the  agricultural 
districts  of  Texas  which  has  been  developed  to  some  extent 
and  is  capable  of  much  further  application  is  the  plentiful  sup- 
ply of  water  to  be  had  underground.  By  irrigation  the  crops 
can  be  watered  in  a  manner  which  discounts  irregularities  of 
precipitation.  The  heaviest  fall  of  rain  on  record  occurred  in 
June,  1899,  near  the  head  waters  of  the  Brazos.  On  that  oc- 
casion 2,000  square  miles  of  country  are  said  to  have  experi- 
enced a  rain  of  about  thirty  inches  in  less  than  four  days.  Con- 
sidering the  enormous  volume  of  water  which  is  required  to  be 


HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 


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88  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 

carried  off  by  the  river  system,  the  damage  to  property  was  not 
great. 

A  feature  of  climate  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  Texas  is 
known  as  the  norther.  A  norther  is  a  cold  wind  from  the 
north  or  northeast,  sometimes  accompanied  or  followed  by  rain 
or  snow.  The  storm  may  last  from  a  day  to  three  or  four  days. 
Severe  northers  seldom  occur  from  May  to  September, 
and  the  total  number  per  year  appears  to  be  not  over  from 
five  to  twelve.  Northers,  or  cold  waves,  are  most  severe  in 
winter  among  the  cattle  and  sheep  ranches  of  the  plains,  where 
they  have  done  great  damage  in  times  past.  More  recently, 
however,  better  precautions  for  the  care  of  stock  and  a  prudent 
attention  to  storm  warnings  sent  out  by  the  United  States 
Weather  Bureau  have  reduced  the  losses  occasioned  by  these 
storms. 

HEALTH  RESORTS. 

THE  favorable  notice  which  several  cities  of  Texas  have 
received  on  account  of  the  benefits  to  health  which  have 
been  derived  from  their  dry  climate,  has  attracted  many  per- 
sons suffering  from  pulmonary  tuberculosis.  The  section  most 
favorable  to  such  forms  of  illness  lies  west  of  the  98th  meridian 
and  north  of  the  30th  parallel.  The  best-known  cities  for  con- 
sumptives are  El  Paso  and  San  Antonio. 

El  Paso  is  situated  at  the  extreme  western  border  of  Texas 
at  an  elevation  of  nearly  4,000  feet.  The  climate  is  very  dry, 
the  average  rainfall  being  nine  inches  per  year.  The  average 
temperature  for  the  year  is  6-4  degrees  Fahrenheit,  with  a  mini- 
mum of  44.3  degrees  in  January  and  a  maximum  of  82.5  degrees 
in  July.  There  is  a  public  water  supply  obtained  from  wells,  and 
the  streets  are  partially  paved  and  sewered. 

San  Antonio  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  and  attractive 
cities  in  the  Southwest.  It  is  situated  at  an  elevation  of  about 
600  feet  above  the  sea  in  a  part  of  the  country  which  is  interest- 
ing for  its  historical  reminiscences  and  for  its  typical  appear- 
ance as  a  cattle-raising  center.  The  average  precipitation  at 
San  Antonio  is  33.07  inches  per  year:  the  average  temperature 
is  68.9  degrees  Fahrenheit,  with  a  minimum  of  60.6  degrees  in 


HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE.  89 

January,  and  a  maximum  of  83.8  in  July.  There  is  an  excellent 
public  water  supply,  over  seventy  miles  of  sewers  and  nearly 
eighty  miles  of  paved  or  macadam  streets.  It  is  one  of  the  few 
cities  of  Texas  in  which  vital  statistics  are  regularly  kept  and 
which  have  a  code  of  sanitary  ordinances  which  are  enforced  by 
reason  for  a  strong  public  sentiment. 

There  are  many  points  in  Texas  which  enjoy  the  advantages 
of  mineral  waters  and  a  climate  favorable  to  diseases  of  the 
respiratory  organs,  kidneys,  rheumatism  and  disorders  of  the 
blood  and  skin.  Among  resorts  frequented  by  patients  suffer- 
ing from  pulmonary  difficulties  are,  besides  San  Antonio  and 
El  Paso,  Fort  Davis,  Kerrville,  New  Braunfels,  Lampasas, 
Brownwood  and  Wichita  Falls.  Spring  waters  which  possess 
medical  properties  are  found  at  San  Antonio;  Burdetteville  in 
Caldwell  County;  Marlin,  Falls  County;  Mineral  Wells,  Palo 
Pinto  County;  Lampasas  Springs,  Lampasas  County,  and 
Wooten  Wells,  Robertson  County. 

The  position  of  Texas  with  respect  to  outside  territory 
has  given  to  the  State  many  characteristics  of  health  and 
climate  better  known  as  existing  in  adjacent  regions.  Thus 
we  find  among  the  range  of  influences  features  common  to  the 
Gulf  Coast,  Mississippi  Valley,  Great  Plains,  Pacific  Slope  and 
Mexico.  As  regards  weather,  whatever  variability  exists  in 
rainfall  is  ascribed  to  the  fact  that  Texas  is  the  meeting  place 
of  dissimilar  types  which  originate  beyond  her  borders.  In 
some  cases  there  is  an  overlapping  of  the  territory  appropriated 
by  each.  The  Gulf  type  of  rainfall  extends  as  far  west  as 
Abilene,  the  Great  Plains  type  as  far  south  as  San  Antonio  and 
the  Mexican  type  as  far  north  as  Lampasas.  In  respect  to  the 
types  of  infectious  diseases  which  are  apprehended  in  conse- 
quence of  the  nearness  of  territory  considered  dangerous  from 
this  point  of  view,  it  may  be  said  that  cholera  is  assumed  to  ap- 
proach from  the  sea,  bubonic  plague  chiefly  from  California, 
smallpox  from  Mexico  and  yellow  fever  from  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  southerly  borders. 


90  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 

III. 
CARE  OF  PUBLIC  HEALTH. 

IT  appears  that  the  principal  health  conditions  which  are  thought 
to  require  regulation  in  Texas  arise  from  the  fear  of  import- 
ing infectious  diseases  into  the  State.  By  reason  of  her  great 
IfMigth  of  coast  and  inland  border  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  a 
constant  guard  against  epidemic  diseases  which  are  generally 
close  at  hand,  the  danger  being  more  real  from  the  fact  that 
conditions  in  Texas  are  often  such  as  to  favor  the  spread  of 
epidemic  diseases.  Among  the  acutely  infectious  diseases  to 
which  Texas  is  most  exposed  are  smallpox,  bubonic  plague, 
typhus  and  yellow  fever.  Yellow  fever  is  the  principal  cause  of 
alarm.  A  favorable  environment  to  it  is  afforded  by  the  com- 
bined effects  of  warm  climate,  want  of  sanitation  in  cities  and 
towns  and  lack  of  general  knowledge  as  to  the  most  effective 
means  of  combating  the  disease. 

STATE  HEALTH  ORGANIZATION. 

THE  health  organization  of  the  State  consists  in  a  Health 
Officer  appointed  by  the  Governor,  County  Physicians  ap- 
pointed by  the  District  Commissioners  and  Town  or  City  Health 
Officers.  Theoretically  the  county  health  officers  are  under  the 
direction  of  the  State  Health  Officer,  and  they  in  turn  exercise 
authority  over  the  territory  in  their  charge.  Practically,  how- 
ever, there  is  not  sufficient  binding  power  in  the  organization  to 
make  it  effective.  No  legal  provision  exists  for  the  punishment 
of  infractions  of  State  orders  or  regulations  relating  to  health. 
Ordinarily  the  central  authority  is  not  exercised.  In  times  of 
emergency  it  is  customary  for  the  State  Health  Officer  to  take 
the  field  and  direct  operations  for  the  State  in  person. 

There  are  many  sources  of  complaint  for  the  want  of  a  thor- 
oughly organized  central  health  department  in  Texas,  not  the 
least  of  which  relates  to  the  absence  of  provision  for  the  collec- 
tion of  vital  statistics.     No  vital  statistics  are  collected. 

In  the  absence  of  data  regarding  the  distribution  of  disease 
the  healthfulness  of  the  cities  and  towns  is  not  accurately 
known.     Nearly  all  the  cities  have  water  supphes,  many  of  them 


HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE.  91 

obtained  from  wells  of  excellent  quality.  Sewerage  systems  are 
not  so  common,  and  the  use  of  broad,  deep  street  gutters  for  the 
accommodation  of  liquid  house  drainage  and  the  overflow  of 
cesspools  is  not  unusual.  Streets,  as  a  rule,  are  not  paved  ex- 
cept in  the  larger  cities.  The  cleaning  of  streets  and  the  col- 
lection and  final  disposal  of  garbage  are  subjects  which  have  not 
thus  far  reached  the  attention  they  deserve.  As  is  frequently 
the  case  in  Southern  cities,  a  free  use  of  disinfectants  too  often 
takes  the  place  of  the  means  of  preventing  diseases  which  are 
based  upon  thorough  order  and  cleanliness. 

QUARANTINE. 

THE  operations  of  the  State  health  organization  are  exclu- 
sively confined  to  the  operation  of  quarantine,  for  the  ad- 
ministration of  which  the  State  Health  Officer  receives  an 
annual  salary  of  |2,500,  and  an  appropriation  which,  in  1890, 
amounted  to  ^34,500.  At  various  points  of  traffic  across  the 
boundary  of  the  State  there  are  located  quarantine  stations, 
among  the  more  prominent  of  which  may  be  mentioned  those 
at  Sabine  Pass,  Galveston,  Velasco,  Brownsville,  Corpus  Christi, 
Laredo,  Eagle  Pass  and  El  Paso. 

It  is  customary  for  the  Governor  to  issue  a  proclamation  each 
spring,  declaring  quarantine  against  seaports  south  of  25  de- 
grees north  latitude,  the  duration  of  this  embargo  usually 
extending  to  about  six  months.  To  these  regulations  and  to 
the  provisions  of  the  State  quarantine  law  (Title  XCH.,  Revised 
Civil  Statutes),  which  contains  the  authority  upon  which  the 
quarantine  regulations  are  founded,  there  has  been  an  active 
protest  by  the  medical  profession  and  business  fraternity  for 
years.  The  argument  is  made  that  the  regulations  are  unneces- 
sarily severe,  subject  to  various  interpretations  requiring  an 
unauthorized  exercise  of  power  for  their  enforcement,  and  that 
they  are  liable  at  critical  times  to  fail  in  accomplishing  their  pur- 
pose. There  is  no  doubt  that  the  quarantine  regulations,  as 
often  interpreted,  are  very  severe.  In  this  connection  it  is  inter- 
esting to  refer  by  comparison  to  the  action  of  other  Southern 
States  which  are  also  exposed  to  yellow  fever.  Realizing  the 
commercial  importance  of  establishing  uniform  and  intelligent 
regulations  for  the  management  and  prevention  of  yellow-fever 


92  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 

epidemics,  all  of  the  Gulf  States,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Texas,  have  adopted  a  code  of  quarantine  rules  known  under 
the  term  of  the  Atlanta  Convention.  There  is  no  clear  reason 
why  Texas  has  not  availed  herself  of  the  benefits  thus  offered. 
Not  only  would  such  action  aid  in  protecting  her  citizens,  but  it 
would  greatly  lighten  the  restrictions  now  placed  upon  com- 
merce. As  to  the  interpretation  which  may  be  put  upon  the 
existing  quarantine  law  in  Texas,  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer  to 
the  frequent  misunderstandings  which  have  arisen  in  its  admin- 
istration. It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  State  Health  Officer, 
while  nominally  in  authority,  has  not  been  vested  with  the  power 
of  enforcing  his  directions  by  legal  process.  Instances  of  the 
arbitrary  nature  of  the  power  of  direction  shown  during  yellow- 
fever  scares  amply  demonstrate  his  difficulty  in  overcoming  the 
natural  prejudices  of  people  accustomed  to  the  crude  methods 
of  the  shotgun  quarantine. 

Under  the  circumstances  it  is  natural  that  numerous  accusa- 
tions of  abuse  of  power  should  have  been  made  in  the  medical 
and  public  press  against  the  State  Health  Officer  and  those  who 
have  been  called  upon  to  act  in  concert  with  him.  How  far 
these  gentlemen  have  laid  themselves  open  to  such  criticism  it  is 
not  here  necessary  to  say.  Their  positions  have  been  difficult 
to  occupy  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  interests. 

The  cause  of  sanitation  has  made  slow  progress  throughout 
the  South,  and  Texas  does  not  stand  alone  in  failing  to  take  due 
account  of  the  advantages  which  modern  science  offers  in  avoid- 
ing communicable  diseases.  It  is  not  only  in  Texas  that  we  see 
the  onerous  and  trade-killing  absurdities  of  a  totally  suspended 
traffic,  quarantined  by  reason  of  an  excited  body  of  citizens 
armed  with  shotguns  and  rifles,  the  stampede  and  panic  which 
occur  with  the  appearance,  or  a  rumor  of  the  appearance,  of 
yellow  fever.  Nor  is  the  apparent  indifference  with  which 
modern  cities  of  the  South  regard  advanced  methods  of  sanita- 
tion and  health  administration  confined  to  Texas.  It  is  not  in- 
tended to  condone  the  quarantine  customs  and  lack  of  sanitary 
improvements  which,  to  an  impartial  eye,  are  clearly  open  to 
criticism,  but  rather  to  point  out  that  the  practical  improve- 
ments demanded  in  her  methods  of  avoiding  epidemic  diseases 
must  be  applied  in  accordance  with  natural  conditions  which  are 
deeoly  seated  and  widely  prevalent. 


HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE.  9J 

RELATION  BETWEEN  SANITARY  AND 
COMMERCIAL  PROGRESS. 

THE  intimate  relation  which  everywhere  exists  between  com- 
mercial and  sanitary  progress  was  never  so  manifest  as  it 
is  to-day.  In  any  nation,  State  or  city  of  marked  commer- 
cial enterprise,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  recognize  unmistakable 
evidences  of  sanitary  enlightenment.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
foci  of  disease  which  constitute  the  present  plagues  of  the  human 
race  are  centers  of  poverty  and  filth.  Wherever  the  progress  of 
trade  exhibits  a  strong  and  unencumbered  growth,  provision  has 
been  made,  or  must  soon  be  undertaken,  for  the  avoidance  of  the 
danger  which  is  seen  in  large  ratios  of  illness  and  mortality. 

From  a  practical  standpoint  the  most  powerful  champions 
of  sanitation  in  Texas  are  the  business  men.  Theirs  are  the 
interests  upon  which  the  advancement  and  stability  of  the  coun- 
try very  largely  depend.  It  is  hardly  likely  that  conditions 
which  are  capable  either  of  insuring  their  commercial  progress 
or  menacing  trade  should  long  pass  without  their  notice. 

In  the  industrial  awakening  which  is  now  taking  place,  im- 
proved sanitary  measures  are  certain  to  be  inaugurated.  The 
losses  to  business  interests,  owing  to  defects  in  the  health  laws, 
by  making  themselves  more  and  more  evident,  will  in  course  of 
time  bring  about  their  own  remedy.  In  a  few  years  such  a  loss  as 
that  of  1898  suffered  by  railroads,  shipping,  merchants  and  others 
engaged  in  trade,  estimated  at  from  $3,000,000  to  $5,000,000,  and 
resulting  from  a  mere  scare  of  yellow  fever,  will  be  impossible. 


IV. 
CONCLUSION. 

A  BRIEF  enumeration  of  some  of  the  main  points  which  it  has 
been  intended  to  touch  upon  in  the  foregoing  remarks  may 
be  conveniently  made  here.  An  examination  of  health  conditions 
in  Texas  gives  assurance  that  there  is  an  immense  and  diversified 
territory  open  for  the  various  developments  of  trade  and  agricul- 
ture which  has  been  richly  endowed  with  natural  circumstances 
favorable  to  health.    Along  the  coast  and  river  bottoms,  malaria. 


94  HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE. 

that  form  of  disease  which  is  most  discriminated  against  by  life 
insurance  companies,  finds  a  natural  and  perennial  habitat. 
A  large  portion  of  the  State,  indeed  more  than  half  its 
total  area,  may  be  recommended  for  persons  suffering  from 
certain  diseases.  There  are  many  resorts  in  which  mineral 
waters  combine  with  atmospheric  conditions  that  in  course  of  time 
may  become  celebrated.  It  is  not  improbable  that  in  ordinary  sea- 
sons most  of  the  cities  and  towns  of  the  State  are  in  a  fair  con- 
dition of  health.  At  the  same  time,  the  inquiry  would  be  incom- 
plete if  it  did  not  point  out  that  the  State,  by  reason  of  imperfect 
legislation,  and  the  people,  by  reason  of  a  natural  reluctance 
toward  sanitation,  have  failed  to  contribute  that  factor  of  sta- 
bility to  health  conditions  which  the  interests  of  commerce  de- 
mand. 

It  is  clear  that  a  Board  of  Health  is  needed  in  place  of  the 
single-headed  office  now  maintained  by  the  State,  and  that  its 
scope  and  authority  should  be  commensurate  with  the  great  re- 
sponsibilities which  should  rightfully  come  to  it.  A  board,  based 
on  principles  successfully  carried  out  by  such  organizations  as 
those  of  Massachusetts,  Michigan  and  Connecticut,  for  example, 
with  such  changes  and  modifications  as  are  required  to  adapt 
them  to  the  needs  of  Texas,  would  be  a  strong  argument  to  the 
outside  world  that  the  people  were  laying  a  strong  foundation 
for  their  material  and  permanent  advancement.  By  the  operation 
of  a  State  Board  of  Health  the  health  conditions  of  all  parts  of 
the  great  territory  could  be  accurately  observed,  epidemic  diseases 
most  readily  controlled,  valuable  lessons  and  advice  to  towns  and 
cities  given  as  to  water  supplies,  sewerage  systems,  food  and  drug 
inspection,  disinfection,  health  ordinances,  garbage  disposal,  etc. 
Not  the  least  of  the  duties  of  the  State  Board  of  Health  would 
be  the  dissemination  of  a  broader  and  more  accurate  knowledge 
of  the  principles  of  preventive  medicine,  so  that  the  people  might 
receive  those  benefits  to  which  they  may  fairly  lay  claim  as  citi- 
zens of  the  great   commonwealth. 


IN  preparing  the  foregoing  report,  useful  data  have  been  found 
in  the  Biennial  Reports  of  the  State  Health  Officer  of  Texas ; 
records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Texas  State  Medical  Associa- 
tion ;  Texas  Medical  Journal  and  Medical  News  of  Texas ;  publi- 


HEALTH  AND  CLIMATE.  95 

cations  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey,  United  States 
Marine  Hospital  Service  and  United  States  Weather  Bureau. 
Many  town  and  county  health  officers,  physicians  and  business 
men  of  Texas  have  given  the  benefit  of  their  information  and 
opinion  in  interviews  and  through  a  large  correspondence  which 
has  grown  out  of  this  investigation.  To  all  those  who  have  as- 
sisted in  the  work,  the  writer  desires  to  extend  his  cordial 
acknowledgments. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

George  A.  Soper,  Ph.D. 
Committee  on  Sanitary  and  Climatic  Conditions. 
New  York,  Oct.  1,  l901. 


THE   MANUFACTURING    INDUSTRIES 
OF  TEXAS. 


PROBABLY  no  State  in  the  Union  is  better  circumstanced 
for  the  production  of  staple  cotton  goods  than  Texas,  her- 
self producing-  nearly  30  per  cent,  of  the  cotton  crop  of  the  United 
States,  and  over  17  per  cent,  of  the  total  crop  of  the  world. 
She  has  in  this  fact  a  fundamental  advantage  unrivaled  by  any 
other  State  or  country.  Besides  this  qualification  of  the  posses- 
sion of  unlimited  and  unfailing  supplies  of  raw  material  of  excel- 
lent quality,  the  State  of  Texas  has  a  varied  and  excellent  climate, 
furnishing  physical  conditions  for  cotton  manufacture  perhaps 
unsurpassed  on  this  continent.  Add  to  these  facts  a  population 
steadily  increasing  in  size  and  more  rapidly  growing  in  its  pur- 
chasing capacity,  and  a  system  of  transportation  already  offering 
free  intercommunication  not  only  between  the  different  sections 
of  the  State,  but  with  the  North,  East  and  West,  and  with  sea- 
ports possessing  established  connections  with  the  great  cotton 
goods  importing  ports  of  the  world,  and  we  have  a  situation  in 
which  one  would  naturally  expect  to  find  Texas  one  of  the  largest 
cotton  goods  producing  States,  in  proportion  to  her  population, 
in  the  Union.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  the  actual  accomplish- 
ments of  Texas  in  this  field  have  been  small.  The  latest  statistics 
obtainable  at  the  time  of  writing  this  report  contain  the  fol- 
lowing facts  and  figures : 

"Texas  has  in  1901,  80,145  cotton  spindles,  against  50,924  in 
1900,  and  she  has  2,172  cotton  looms  this  year,  against  1,066  last 
year.  Among  the  large  cotton  mills  of  the  State  are  the  Dallas 
Cotton  Mills,  of  Dallas ;  capital,  $275,000 ;  manufacturing  ducks. 
The  American  Cotton  Spinning  Company,  Denison ;  capital, 
$200,000 ;  manufacturing  yams.  Galveston  City  Cotton  Mills ; 
capital.  $325,000 ;  manufacturing  sheetings,  drills,  ducks,  etc. 
The  Gonzales  Cotton  Mills,  of  Gonzales  ;  capital.  $250,000  ;  manu- 
facturing heavy  broom  cotton.     The   Bonham   Cotton   Mill,  of 


98  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES. 

Bonham ;  capital,  $150,000  ;  manufacturing  sheetings.  The  Cor- 
sicana  Mill,  of  Corsicana ;  capital,  $150,000 ;  producing  sheet- 
ings, twills  and  duck." 

The  above  statistics  are  not  entirely  accurate.  For  example, 
the  Galveston  City  Cotton  Mills,  ostensibly  the  largest  in  the 
State,  have  been  idle  for  a  considerable  period,  and,  so  far  as 
your  committee  can  learn,  there  is  no  impiediate  prospect  of  work 
being  resumed  there.  On  the  other  hand,  some  of  the  manufactur- 
ing enterprises,  completed  or  in  prospect,  are  to  be  reckoned  par- 
tially as  cotton  goods  producers.  Still,  after  taking  into  account 
all  that  the  State  has  achieved  in  this  branch  of  textile  industry, 
the  fact  remains  that  Texas  cotton  goods  manufacturing  is  still 
principally  in  the  future.  That  it  is  the  destiny  of  this  immense 
commonwealth  to  produce  largely,  both  for  home  and  export 
trade,  the  finished  product  for  which  she  produces  the  raw  ma- 
terial in  unlimited  amounts,  it  needs  no  seer  to  predict.  But  he 
would  be  a  daring  prophet  who  ventured  to  attempt  in  advance  to 
trace  the  further  progress  of  the  industry.  To  your  committee  it 
seems  probable  that  this  progress  will  be  conditioned  mainly  upon 
the  rapidity  with  which  the  population  of  the  State  increases  and 
with  which  her  enormous  mineral  and  agricultural  resources  are 
taken  up. 

It  is  the  history  of  all  new  and  richly  endowed  territories  that 
manufacturing  in  general  is  a  delayed  branch  of  human  activity. 
Both  immigration  and  natural  increase  of  population  find  at  first 
more  tempting  outlets  for  their  energies  in  the  vast  opportunities 
afforded  by  soil  and  mine,  and  it  is  not  until  the  number  of  in- 
habitants becomes  relatively  large  and  stable  that  those  manu- 
factures can  flourish  which  require  for  their  prosecution  consid- 
erable amounts  of  highly  or  moderately  skilled  labor.  The  his- 
tory of  Texas  seems  to  furnish  no  exception  to  this  general  rule, 
and  so  long  as  there  remains  such  large  opportunities  for  making 
money  out  of  her  soil,  it  will  be  difficult  to  obtain  permanent  and 
contented  mill  hands  at  wages  which  will  enable  her  factories  to 
compete  with  those  of  the  more  thickly  settled  sections  of  the 
country.  When,  however,  the  existing  conditions  in  this  re- 
spect have  been  outgrown,  it  may  be  regarded  as  certain  that 
Texas,  with  her  cotton,  her  fuel,  her  transportation  facilities  and 
a  large  population  of  high  consumptive  power,  will  be  found 
among  the  leading  cotton  goods  producing  States  in  the  Union. 


MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES.  99 

If  oil  furnishes  the  results  as  fuel  which  are  expected  of  it,  then 
we  may  hope  to  see  manufacturing  industries  of  all  kinds  flourish 
in  Texas.  She  has  an  abundance  of  raw  material,  not  only  of 
cotton,  but  of  wool,  cereals,  lumber,  hides,  iron  and  other  min- 
erals, and,  as  the  State  becomes  more  thickly  settled,  will  produce 
in  greater  abundance.  Wool  has  for  some  time  been  successfully 
manufactured  into  woolen  cloth,  and  in  one  mill  the  cloth  is  cut 
up  and  made  into  garments.  Iron  is  being  manufactured  into 
car-wheels  and  other  articles,  wheat  is  being  made  into  flour, 
while  other  manufacturing  industries  are  springing  up. 

The  possibilities  in  manufacturing  are  very  great.  Given 
plenty  of  raw  material  and  cheap  fuel,  with  favorable  climatic 
conditions  and  proper  transportation  facilities,  capital  and  labor, 
the  two  necessary  factors  in  all  enterprises,  will  seek  the  State 
freely,  and  she  will  move  forward  with  tremendous  strides. 

D.  Le  Roy  Dresser,  Chairman. 
New  York.  Nov.  1,  1901. 


[In  designating  the  sub-committees,  the  Chairman  of  the  General  Committee  ap- 
pointed two  separate  committees  on  manufacturing,  one  on  Cotton  Piece  Goods  Manu- 
facturing, the  other  on  General  Manufacturing.  The  first  named  consisted  of  Johre 
H.  Pynes,  chairman;  C.  H.  Kavanaugh,  C.  T.  Root,  G.  W.  Graham.  The  second  con- 
sisted of  D.  Le  Roy  Dresser,  chairman;  W.  A.  Marble,  G.  C.  Batcheller,  H.  Elmer 
Gibb. 

On  studying  the  subject  it  became  apparent  that  manufacturing  in  the  State  of 
Texas  has  been  developed  so  slightly  that  there  is  not  sufficient  data  and  statistics 
based  on  experience  to  warrant  separate  reports  by  these  two  committees.  Therefore, 
the  foregoing  general  statement  has  been  made  in  lieu  of  more  definite  reports. 

The  potentialities  are  great,  but  they  depend  upon  conditions  which  are  purely 
local.  Therefore,  the  committees  deemed  it  unwise  to  attempt  to  outline  those  possi- 
bilities, as  such  outline  could  be  merely  a  prophecy  and  could  not  be  accepted  as  being 
anything  more  than  generalities.! 


LABOR  CONDITIONS  OF  TEXAS. 


THE  conditions  of  labor  in  Texas,  as  in  most  of  the  Southern 
States,  are  not  such  as  to  promote  the  development  of  manu- 
facturing industries.  The  supply  is  insufficient  and  erratic.  Work- 
ers are  relatively  unskilled  and  wages  are  relatively  high.  During 
a  considerable  part  of  the  year  factory  hands  desert  the  mills  for 
better-paid  employment  in  the  harvest  fields.  Colored  laborers  are 
at  best  very  unreliable,  and  after  a  short  period  of  desultory  in- 
dustry at  good  wages  are  prone  to  indulge  in  several  weeks' 
idleness,  until  their  earnings  are  spent  and  the  pressure  of  need 
compels  a  return  to  work  in  the  mills. 

These  erratic  elements  account  for  the  variations  in  the 
labor  supply,  although  not  for  its  persistent  deficiency,  and,  of 
course,  they  tend  to  cause  high  wages.  More  constant  and  power- 
ful factors  are  the  lack  of  foreign  immigration  of  the  artisan  class 
and  the  attractions  offered  by  the  profits  to  be  made  from  cheap 
lands.  These  tend  to  an  insufficient  source  of  labor  supply  on  the 
one  hand  and  to  steady  depletion  of  the  artisan  class  on  the  other, 
as  well  as  to  a  high  rate  of  factory  wages,  in  accord  with  the 
fundamental  law  that  cheap  and  productive  land,  yielding  an 
easily  earned  livelihood,  promotes  land  development  and  retards 
the  development  of  manufactures. 

The  working  of  this  law  has  borne  heavily  upon  the  infant 
manufacturing  industries  of  Texas.  The  geniality  of  the  cli- 
mate, the  cheapness  and  fertility  of  the  land  and  the  opportunities 
of  profit  from  its  appreciation  in  value  have  caused  a  steady  drain 
of  local  capital  and  labor  from  urban  to  rural  pursuits.  To  main- 
tain a  labor  supply  for  the  new  factories  it  has  been  necessary  to 
bring  factory  hands  from  other  sections,  and  these  in  turn  have 
gradually  abandoned  the  factories  for  farm  and  ranch.  Only  by 
frequently  importing  new  hands  has  the  factory  quota  been  pas- 
sably maintained. 


102  LABOR   CONDITIONS. 

Anotlier  element  that  affects  the  labor  supply  is  the  influence 
of  climate  as  promotive  of  industry  or  indolence.  It  is  an  ele- 
mentary proposition  of  sociology  that  where  industry  is  not  neces- 
sary to  subsistence  the  tendency  to  indolence  is  strong.  In  a  con- 
tinuously mild  climate  and  on  a  fruitful  soil  subsistence  is  very 
easily  provided  for,  and  the  demands  of  necessity  upon  industry  are 
relatively  small  in  comparison  with  those  imposed  by  severe 
climates  and  soils  which  yield  a  food-supply  only  through  unre- 
mitting toil.  Throughout  the  South  the  necessary  outlays  for 
clothing,  fuel  and  shelter  are  relatively  small  and  may  be  easily 
met  by  a  very  little  labor  in  tilling  the  soil,  which  will  also  yield 
an  ample  food  supply.  These  easy  conditions  of  life  satisfy  a  very 
large  class,  who  have  no  ambition,  regard  work  as  punishment  and 
indolence  as  a  desirable  state.  It  is  difficult  to  induce  this  class  to 
abandon  an  easy  and  independent  mode  of  life  for  pursuits  which 
demand  persistent  industry  and  impose  irksome  restraints. 

These  conditions  obtain  largely  among  the  negro  population 
of  the  South  and  materially  aflfect  a  considerable  proportion  of 
the  lower  classes  of  the  white  population  in  some  regions.  Be- 
cause of  them  it  is  difficult  to  procure  either  a  sufficient  or  a  con- 
stant supply  of  factory  labor ;  or  to  develop  a  large  and  necessary 
class  of  highly  skilled  operatives.  This  difficulty  has  been  severely 
felt  by  the  infant  manufacturing  industries  of  Texas,  and  to  secure 
and  maintain  a  sufficiency  of  skilled  operatives  for  cotton  mills, 
sawmills  and  perhaps  other  classes  it  has  been  found  necessary  at 
frequent  intervals  to  import  new  workers  from  distant  sections. 
The  frequent  resort  to  importation  of  skilled  labor  has  been  com- 
pelled by  a  continuous  process  of  depletion,  due  to  the  attraction 
of  various  forms  of  land  development,  which  has  led  the  more  en- 
terprising operatives  to  abandon  factory  work. 

From  these  causes  a  considerable  percentage  of  the  machinery 
in  many  manufacturing  plants  is  operated  but  fitfully,  and  the 
average  pro  rata  output  per  machine,  or  other  unit  of  production, 
is,  therefore,  relatively  small,  by  reason  of  enforced  idleness,  due  to 
lack  of  operatives.  Because  of  this  undue  proportion  of  idle 
machinery  the  necessary  investment  required  for  a  given  product 
is  relatively  large,  and  the  interest  charges  borne  by  the  product 
are  correspondingly  more  pro  rata  than  in  the  case  of  plants 
operated  to  the  fullest  capacity. 


LABOR   CONDITIONS.  103 

The  skilled  labor  situation  is  steadily  becoming  more  satisfac- 
tory, however,  byTeason  of  the  increase  in  population,  the  growth 
of  a  considerable  number  of  cities,  the  appreciation  of  land  values 
and  the  necessity  of  varied  occupations  to  provide  subsistence. 
Stable  labor  conditions,  ere  long,  may  be  confidently  anticipated. 
When  these  stable  conditions  as  to  the  supply  of  labor  shall  have 
been  reached  by  the  evolution  of  a  sufficiently  large  and  properly 
skilled  artisan  class,  Texas  will  have  a  very  important  advantage 
over  other  sections  in  the  relatively  low  cost  of  living,  which  in- 
evitably results  in  correspondingly  low  prices  of  labor.  It  is 
an  unshakable  fact  that  because  of  climatic  and  physical  reasons 
the  actual  necessities  of  life  cost  less,  and  will  always  cost  less,  in 
the  Southern  than  in  the  Northern  States.  When  Southern  manu- 
facturing industries  have  at  command  an  artisan  class  of  persis- 
tent industry  and  highly  developed  skill,  they  will  have  a  decided 
advantage  in  labor  costs. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Charles  B.  Knox,  Chairman, 
George  C.  Potter, 

Committee  on  Labor. 
New  York,  Nov.  1,  1901. 


THE   TRANSPORTATION  AND   EXPORT 
FACILITIES  OF  TEXAS. 


TEXAS,  according  to  the  report  issued  by  her  State  Railroad 
Commission,  has  greater  mileage  of  railroad  than  any 
other  State  except  Pennsylvania  and  Illinois,  and  has  kept  pace 
in  railroad  construction  with  other  portions  of  the  country. 

The  last  published  report  of  the  State  Railroad  Commission 
shows  that  on  June  30,  1900,  there  were  9,867.07  miles  of  rail- 
road in  operation  in  Texas.  This  was  a  net  increase  of  1,212.92 
miles  over  June  30,  1891,  at  the  time  the  Railroad  Commission 
was  established. 

In  1891  there  were  eleven  railroad  properties  in  Texas  in  the 
hands  of  receivers,  the  mileage  of  these  roads  aggregating 
3,355.57  miles,  or  about  38f  per  cent,  of  the  total  mileage  then 
in  operation  in  the  State ;  while  in  1900  only  one  railroad  in  Texas 
was  in  the  hands  of  a  receiver.  This  road  was  only  twenty  miles 
long  and  represented  less  than  one-fifth  of  one  per  cent,  of  the  total 
mileage  of  the  State. 

The  people  of  the  State  in  1890  adopted  an  amendment  to 
the  Constitution,  which  reads  as  follows: 

"Section  2.  Railroads  heretofore  constructed,  or  which 
"may  hereafter  be  constructed  in  this  State,  are  hereby  de- 
"clared  public  highways  and  railroad  companies  common 
"carriers.  The  Legislature  shall  pass  laws  to  regulate  railroad 
"freight  and  passenger  tariffs,  to  correct  abuses  and  prevent 
"unjust  discrimination  and  extortion  in  rates  of  freight  and 
"passenger  tariffs  on  railroads  in  this  State,  and  enforce  the 
"same  by  adequate  penalties,  and  to  further  accomplish  these 
"objects  and  purposes  may  provide  and  establish  all  requisite 
"means  and  agencies  invested  with  such  powers  as  may  be 
"deemed  adequate  and  advisable." 


106  TRANSPORTATION. 

Following  this,  the  Legislature  of  the  State  on  April  3,  1891, 
passed  an  act  establishing  a  Railroad  Commission  for  the  State 
"whereby  discrimination  and  extortion  in  railroad  charges  may  be 
prevented  and  reasonable  freight  and  passenger  tariffs  may  be 
established." 

The  duties  and  general  powers  of  the  Railroad  Commission 
are  set  forth  in  the  following  section: 

"The  power  is  hereby  vested  in  the  Railroad  Commission 
"of  Texas,  and  it  is  hereby  made  its  duty  to  adopt  all  necessary 
"rates,  charges  and  regulations  to  govern  and  regulate  freight 
"and  passenger  tariffs,  the  power  to  correct  abuses  and  to  pre- 
"vent  discrimination  and  extortion  in  the  rates  of  freight  and 
"passenger  tariffs  on  the  different  railroads  in  this  State,  and 
"to  enforce  the  same  by  having  the  penalties  inflicted  as  by 
"this  act  prescribed  through  proper  courts  having  juris- 
"diction." 

Since  that  time  the  State  Railroad  Commission  has  issued 
annual  reports  which  constitute  a  very  complete  record  of  the 
railroads  of  Texas,  covering  all  the  details  of  operation. 

These  reports  show  that  the  cost  of  transportation  of  freight 
within  the  State  has  been  very  much  reduced  since  the  Rail- 
road Commission  was  organized,  the  Commission  claiming  that 
the  net  revenues  of  the  railroads  have  been  considerably  in- 
creased, ascribing  as  the  reason  therefor  the  increased  amount 
of  transportation  and  the  position  of  the  Commission  taken  in 
regard  to  cutting  of  rates  and  the  allowance  of  rebates,  both  of 
which  practices  the  Commission  claims  to  have  minimized,  and 
in  most  cases  to  have  stopped  altogether. 

The  last  report  of  the  State  Railroad  Commission  cites  from 
the  report  of  the  Interstate  Commerce  Commission  to  show 
that  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1891,  the  average  revenue  to 
railroads  throughout  the  United  States  was  8.95  mills  per  ton 
per  mile,  while  in  1899  it  was  7.24  mills,  a  decline  of  19.1  per  cent. 
This  report  gives  the  figures  for  Texas  for  1891  as  14.03  mills 
per  ton  per  mile,  and  in  1899  as  10.73  mills,  the  decline  being 
equal  to  23.5  per  cent. 

There  has  been  considerable  friction  between  the  Railroad 
Commission  and  the  railroads  of  the  State,  resulting  in  litigations, 


TRANSPORTATION.  107 

some  of  which  have  been  carried  to  the  United  States  Courts. 
If  we  were  to  attempt  to  go  into  the  merits  of  these  contro- 
versies this  report  would  be  burdened  with  statements,  pro  and 
con,  which  could  not  produce  results  and  which  could  not 
change  the  fact  that  the  Railroad  Commission  still  exists  with 
all  its  powers,  or  alter  the  sentiment  of  the  majority  which  is 
favorable  to  retaining  in  the  Commission's  hands  the  present 
power  rather  than  curtailing  it.  This  majority,  however,  comes 
largely  from  the  agricultural  class.  There  is  a  large  and  growing 
class,  principally  the  men  of  affairs  of  the  commercial  centres, 
who  believe  that  placing  the  rate-making  power  in  the  hands  of 
even  as  eminent  gentlemen  as  have  occupied  the  positions  of  Com- 
missioners, has  been  detrimental  to  the  State.  The  repeated 
instances  wherein  the  rates  and  rulings  of  the  Commission  have 
threatened  established  business  interests  with  bankruptcy,  and 
the  appeals  that  have  been  made  to  the  Federal  Courts,  have 
tended  to  stimulate  a  feeling  that  Texas,  like  other  comparatively 
new  States,  has  lost  and  must  continue  to  lose  rather  than  gain 
by  antagonizing  capital. 

The  appeals  to  the  Federal  Courts  have  invariably  brought 
relief,  but  never  to  the  extent  of  denying  the  right  of  the  State 
to  delegate  to  a  commission  the  rate-making  power.  The  pres- 
sure upon  the  roads,  however,  has  always  been  relieved  by  the 
Federal  Courts,  whose  mandates  have  been  in  the  line  that  rates 
should  be  reasonable,  just  and  without  discrimination. 

The  rulings  of  the  Commission  in  relation  to  the  compressing 
of  cotton  have  often  been  deemed  unjust  to  the  lines  engaged  in  its 
transportation,  but  happily  the  Federal  Court  has  also  relieved 
this  situation. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  in  the  interest  of  the  energetic  and 
progressive  business  interests  of  the  State,  the  Legislature 
should  not  direct  the  Commission  along  Hnes  more  in  harmony 
with  those  of  the  great  majority  of  States  where  transportation 
interests  are  supervised  by  the  railroad  commissions  by  allow- 
ing the  roads  the  rate-making  power,  but  insisting  at  the  same 
time  that  the  rates  shall  always  be  reasonable,  just  and  without 
discrimination  as  between  individuals  or  places. 

The  sentiment  in  most  States  is  favorable  to  railroad  com- 
missions.   This  condition  is  accepted,  but  we  consider  it  a  grave 


108  TRANSPORTATION. 

question  whether  a  commission,  vested  with  the  rate-making 
power,  as  the  one  which  exists  in  Texas,  is  not  detrimental  to 
not  only  the  railroads,  but  the  State  at  large  and  all  vested  inter- 
ests therein. 

When  it  is  asserted  that  Texas  has  more  railroad  mileage 
than  any  other  State,  except  Pennsylvania  and  Illinois,  it  must 
not  be  forgotten  that  Texas  has  an  enormous  area,  and  that 
this  general  statement  of  mileage  does  not  convey  any  idea  of 
the  conditions  in  the  State.  For  instance,  Texas  has  265,780 
square  miles  of  territory.  This  is  more  than  the  total  square 
miles  of  territory  within  the  States  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Maine,  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  Massachu- 
setts, New  Jersey,  Connecticut,  Delaware  and  Rhode  Island, 
which  twelve  States  have  only  258,635  square  miles  of  territory, 
and  which,  generally  speaking,  may  be  said  to  be  the  most  popu- 
lous and  richest  States  in  the  Union. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  the  western  half  of  the  State 
is  not  to  any  great  extent  susceptible  of  cultivation,  except  a  small 
|)ortion  that  can  be  irrigated.  It  is  dry,  sterile  and  unproductive, 
yielding  little  returns,  except  when  devoted  to  cattle  and  sheep 
industries. 

Taking  as  a  basis  100  square  miles  of  territory  throughout 
the  entire  United  States,  the  average  population  for  each  100 
square  miles  is  25,650,  while  the  mileage  of  railroads  per  each 
100  square  miles  is  6.37  miles.  Taking  Texas  by  itself  on  the 
same  basis,  there  is  for  each  100  square  miles  a  population  of 
11,470,  while  for  the  same  division  of  terrftory  there  are  3.73 
miles  of  railroad. 

Taking  the  earning  capacity  of  roads  in  Texas,  as  com- 
pared with  the  United  States,  using  as  the  basis  of  comparison 
100  miles  of  railroad  which,  in  Texas,  would  give  a  population 
of  30,347  per  such  100  miles  of  railroad,  the  earnings  are 
$466,600. 

Taking  the  entire  United  States  on  the  same  basis  of  100 
miles  of  railroad,  we  find  a  population  of  39,537  per  100  miles 
of  railroad,  with  earnings  of  $700,500  for  each  100  miles. 

In  Texas  the  total  capitalization  of  the  roads  is  as  follows: 


TRANiSPORTATION.  109 


TEXAS  RAILROAD  STATISTICS. 

Capitalization : 

Bonds,  etc  $262,614,567 

Stocks  247,268,642 

Total   , $509,883,209 

Per  mile,  bonds,  etc $23,906 

Per  mile,  stocks 22,509 

Per  mile  total $46,415 

Miles  of  Line  (1899) 9,778 

Employees'  Wages  and  Services: 

Total  number  (1899) 41,502 

Number  per  100  miles  of  line 365 

Amount  paid  for  services $22,045,446 

Gross  Earnings  from  Operation 53,048,923 

Per  mile  of  line 4,666 

Expenditures — Operation  (70.02  per  cent,  of  gross  earnings)  : 

Wages  and  services $22,045,446 

Other  operating  outlays 15,101,976 

Total  operation $37,147,422 

Interest: 

On  bonds $12,212,394 

On  other  securities 362,379 

Total  interest   $12,574,773 

Dividends    265,487 

Other  charges,  rentals,  etc 3,666,008 

Total  expenditures $53,653,690 

Traffic  of  the  roads  in  Texas,  as  compared  with  traffic  in  the 
entire  United  States,  is  as  follows: 


no 


TRANSPORTATION. 


TRAFFIC. 


Texas  and 
Louisiana. 
Tons  of  freight  carried  for  each  mile 

of  line 328,972 

Average  tons  per  train 169.16 

Number  passengers  per  mile  of  line . .     33,913 
Passenger  earnings  per  mile  of  line. .     $1,021.78 
Freight  earnings  per  mile  of  line 3,551.94 


United 
States. 

659,565 
243.52 
77,821 
$1,927.94 
4,895.09 


PROFITS. 

Capital  stock  which  received  no  d^idend: 

1890,  per  cent,  of  total,  99.99     1895,  per  cent,  of  total,  99.97 

1891  "       "       "       "      99.99     1896      "        "  "  "  99.31 

1892  "       "       "       "      99.98     1897      "        "  "  "  99.27 

1893  "        "       "       "      99.99     1898     "        "  "  "  93.17 

1894  "        "       "       "      97.84     1899      "        "  "  "  91.24 


Interest,  1899. 

On  Total  Funded  Debt. 

Per  Ct.             On  Bonds. 

Per  Ct 

16.22  p. 

c. of  total  earned 

,  0             7.21  p.  c.  of  total  earned,  0 

1.36    ' 

<            <( 

Ito    2     1.31    " 

"      Ito   5 

1.94    ' 

(            (( 

2  to    3     2.24    " 

"       2  to    3 

20.57    ' 

<            << 

3  to    4  20.34    " 

"       3  to    4 

29.44    • 

i            ii 

4  to    5  34.05    " 

4  to    5 

13.94    ' 

((            <( 

5  to    6  15.90    " 

"       5  to    6 

11.52    ' 

(            « 

6  to    7  13.16    " 

"       6  to    7 

2.72    ' 

(            <( 

7  to    8    3.14    " 

"       7  to    8 

2.29    ' 

r<                    « 

9  to  10    2.65    " 

"      9  to  10 

The  possibilities  of  railroad  development  in  Texas,  like  the 
possibilities  of  the  development  in  other  lines  in  that  State  if 


TRANSPORTATION.  HI 

properly  encouraged  and  protected,  are  beyond  the  power  of  any 
man  to  predict.  They  are  startHng  when  one  stops  to  consider  the 
conditions  which  surround  that  State  and  its  relation  to  other 
fertile  States  and  Territories  naturally  tributary  thereto. 

Several  of  its  railroads  already  connect  with  the  railroads 
that  have  been  built  in  Mexico,  and  further  development  in 
Mexico  must,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  surroundings,  favorably 
affect  the  traffic  of  these  connecting  roads  in  Texas. 

One  more  system  in  Texas  is  arranging  to  extend  to  the 
Mexican  border,  and  within  a  comparatively  short  period  of 
time  there  will  probably  be  other  outlets  for  Mexico  through  this 
great  State. 

Texas  naturally  is  the  route  through  which  a  large  part  of 
the  products  of  Southern  California  going  eastward  and  all 
going  to  the  Gulf  ports  must  pass,  and  as  California  increases 
'^y  population  and  in  producing  capacity  proportionate  benefits 
must  accrue  to  Texas  railroads. 

Between  California  and  Texas  there  are  the  intervening  terri- 
tories of  Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  rich  in  minerals,  which  have 
by  no  means  been  fully  developed. 

Contiguous  to  Texas  on  the  north  are  Southwestern  Arkan- 
sas, Indian  Territory  and  Oklahoma,  while  north  of  Indian 
Territory  and  Oklahoma  is  the  populous  and  rich  agricultural 
State  of  Kansas.  To  the  northwest  are  Colorado  and  Utah,  rich 
in  mines  and  in  cattle,  while  just  north  of  Colorado  is  Wyoming. 
Again,  north  of  Kansas  there  is  Nebraska. 

The  natural  route  to  the  Gulf  coast  for  such  products  of  these 
States  and  Territories,  whether  in  agriculture,  minerals,  cattle, 
sheep  or  manufactured  products  of  any  and  every  kind  which  may 
be  developed  within  their  borders,  destined  to  the  coast,  is  either 
through  Texas  to  its  outports  or  through  Louisiana  to  New  Or- 
leans. 

Galveston  is  the  principal  port  of  Texas,  as  New  Orleans  is 
of  Louisiana.  These  naturally  are  rival  ports,  and  will  always 
continue  to  be,  and  each,  therefore,  naturally  and  earnestly 
strives  for  its  proportion  of  the  increase  of  traffic  destined  to  the 
coast  which  comes  from  the  increased  development  which  is 
rapidly  taking  place  in  the  trans-Mississippi  and  trans-Missouri 


112  TRANSPORTATION. 

sections  of  the  United  States.  Both  will  benefit,  whether  equally 
or  not,  of  course,  remains  to  be  seen,  but  whether  equally  or  not, 
both  will  benefit  very  largely. 

As  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  rivers 
is  settled  and  developed,  the  traflfic  to  the  southwestern  Gulf  ports 
will  become  greater. 

Then,  too,  the  possibilities  of  the  development  of  Texas  itself 
must  be  considered.  It  has  265,780  square  miles  of  territory, 
about  one-half  of  which  is  fertile  soil  capable  of  producing  almost 
everything  that  grows  in  other  parts  of  the  country,  is  rich  in 
mineral  resources,  in  timber,  cattle  and  sheep,  looks  forward 
naturally  to  a  great  increase  in  manufactured  products,  for  which 
it  has  an  abundance  of  raw  material  of  many  kinds,  is  capable 
of  supporting  a  vast  population,  and,  taken  all  in  all,  is  probably 
one  of  the  States  of  greatest  possibilities  within  the  limits  of  the 
entire  United  States. 

There  also  must  be  taken  into  account  the  probability 
of  great  increase  in  the  importations.  This  is  a  natural  sequence 
of  development.  As  Texas  and  the  country  contiguous  and 
adjacent  thereto  develop  and  grow  richer,  the  luxuries  of  life 
which  are  now  principally  imported  through  the  eastern  gate- 
ways will  be  brought  in  to  supply  that  vast  section  through  the 
ports  of  Louisiana  and  Texas.  There  are  now  fleets  of  large 
vessels  sailing  from  Galveston  and  Port  Arthur  and  Sabine 
Pass  laden  with  Texas  products,  which,  when  they  come  to 
Texas  for  their  cargoes,  now  come  largely  in  ballast,  but  which, 
as  the  purchasing  power  of  that  section  of  the  United  States  in- 
creases, will  bring  valuable  cargoes  from  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Nearly  all  the  heavier  exports  and  imports  of  Texas  flow 
through  Galveston.  What  this  trade  will  amount  to  as  the  State 
becomes  a  larger  producer  and  the  country  naturally  tributary  to 
Texas  is  developed,  is  beyond  the  power  of  any  man  to  predict. 
It  is,  undoubtedly,  destined  to  become  enormous. 

Galveston,  for  the  fiscal  year  closing  June  30,  1901,  exported 
products,  natural  and  manufactured,  to  the  value  of  |101,962,- 
792.    The  principal  items  were : 

Cotton,  1,699,197  bales,  valued  at  $82,093,982. 

Cottonseed,  cake  and  meal,  481,749,531  pounds,  valued  at 
$4,801,043. 


TRANSPORTATION.  113 

Cottonseed  oil,  5,004,747  gallons,  valued  at  $1,518,127. 
Wheat,  16,163,224  bushels,  valued  at  $10,310,613. 
Lumber,  39,960,000  feet,  valued  at  $660,665. 
Ores  and  minerals,  12,698,857  pounds,  valued  at  1648,789. 
Live  stock,  valued  at  $490,640. 

These  were  transported  in  330  vessels,  which  cleared  from 
Galveston  in  the  foreign  trade,  with  a  total  of  690,032  tons  (net). 

These  vessels  represented  36  lines,  10  running  to  Great  Britain, 
the  Continent,  the  Mediterranean,  Denmark,  Cuba,  Mexico,  the 
West  Indies,  South  America  and  China. 

These  exports  represent  about  one-fifteenth  of  the  total  ex- 
ports of  the  United  States,  and  place  this  port  in  the  second 
rank  as  a  cotton  port,  in  the  first  rank  as  a  cottonseed,  cake  and 
meal  exporting  port,  and  the  second  place  as  a  wheat  exporting 
port. 

The  growth  of  the  export  of  cereals  has  been  phenomenal. 
In  1892  Galveston  exported  only  847,772  bushels  of  wheat,  and 
this  exportation  has  grown  steadily,  except  in  the  years  1894, 
1895  and  1896  when  there  were  short  wheat  crops,  until  it  has 
reached  its  present  dimensions  of  16,163,224  bushels.  The 
growth  in  corn  has  been  even  more  phenomenal.  In  1892  Gal- 
veston exported  only  49,185  bushels  of  corn,  and  in  1900 
8,136,275  bushels. 

Texas  produced  in  1892  cotton  to  the  extent  of  2,406,108 
bales;  for  the  year  just  ended,  3,508,286  bales,  and  the  growth 
of  the  shipment  of  cotton  in  Galveston  Has  been  propor- 
tionate. 

Sabine  Pass,  which  includes  Port  Arthur,  has  attracted  at- 
tention of  recent  years,  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  it  has  become 
the  terminal  of  the  railroad  system  leading  from  Kansas  City  al- 
most due  south  to  that  place.  The  exports  from  Sabine  Pass,  in- 
cluding Port  Arthur,  for  the  year  ending  June  30,  1901,  were 
51,976  tons,  valued  at  $2,333,669.  Sabine  Pass  and  Port 
Arthur  are,  it  seems  to  your  committee,  destined  to  grow,  as 
the  facilities  leading  there  are  improved,  and  as  the  country 
tapped  by  the  railways  entering  that  port  is  settled.  Galveston, 
however,  is,  as  we  have  said,  the  principal  port,  and  has  all  the 


114  TRANSPORTATION. 

facilities  and  advantages  of  an  established  city,  with  fine  ter- 
minal properties  and  a  deep-water  channel. 
Respectfully  submitted, 

William  R.  Corwine, 

Chairman, 
Henry  B.  Cosgrove, 
Cassius  M.  Wicker, 
Committee  on  Transportation  and  Export  Facilities. 
New  York,  Nov.  1,  1901, 


THE  BANKS  AND  FINANCIAL  INTERESTS 
OF  TEXAS. 


YOUR  committee  on  banking  beg  leave  to  report  as  follows: 
It  gives  us  great  pleasure  to  state  we  found  from  the  best 
information  obtainable  the  financial  condition  of  the  State, 
counties  and  cities  in  every  vi^ay  very  satisfactory.  Out  of 
about  246  counties  we  found  16G  have  in  successful  operation 
297  national  banks,  168  private  banks,  7  savings  banks  and  12 
loan  companies ;  total,  484. 

The  297  national  banks  have  a  paid- 
up  capital  of  approximately |27,257,190.00 

Surplus  and  undivided  profits 10,485,167.00 

Deposits  100,305,046.00 

Loans  and  discounts 77,541,019.00 

After  deducting  the  25  per  cent,  for  reserve,  which  is  re- 
quired under  the  National  Banking  Law,  as  applied  to  New 
York  City,  leaving  about  $36,082,873,  an  amount  almost  equal 
to  the  entire  capital  and  surplus,  which  is,  no  doubt,  represented 
by  cash  on  hand  or  carefully  and  securely  invested  in  good 
securities. 

We  also  find  in  addition  to  the  above  figures  that  the  State  has 
168  private  banks  having  approximately  the  following  capital : 
$4,582,000 ;  individual  responsibility,  $7,000,000. 

This  shows  a  condition  which  we  doubt  if  any  State  can 
equal ;  showing  conclusively  the  careful  manner  in  which  the 
finances  are  handled  and  reflects  great  credit  upon  the  bank- 
ing officials. 

We  were  very  much  pleased  with  the  character  of  the  officers 
and  clerks ;  in  every  instance  we  found  them  highly  cultured 
gentlemen.    The  banking  houses  are  excellently  equipped,  equal- 


116  BANKS  AND  FINANCIAL  INTERESTS. 

ing  those  of  any  similar  institutions  we  have  ever  had  the 
pleasure  of  visiting.  Many  of  these  banking  offices  were  as 
perfect  in  appointments  as  any  found  in  our  home  city.  Your 
committee  cannot  make  any  suggestions  that  would  in  any  way 
improve  the  conditions  as  we  found  them  along  the  lines  of 
regular  banking. 

Your  committee  begs  to  point  out  the  desirability  of  action  by 
the  Legislature  of  the  State  of  Texas  looking  toward  the  en- 
couragement of  savings  banks  within  that  State,  as  a  very  im- 
portant means  of  developing  its  resources,  as  well  as  promoting 
the  prosperity  of  its  working  classes. 

The  great  utility  of  savings  bank  capital  has  been  very  little 
appreciated  by  most  of  the  Southern  States.  The  savings  banks 
are  few,  and  the  deposits  relatively  small.  Texas  in  particular 
is  far  behind  most  of  the  others.  It  ranks  among  the  lowest  of  all 
the  States  in  the  Union  in  this  provision  for  encouraging  thrift 
and  economy  and  utilizing  the  great  volume  of  home  capital 
profitably. 

It  would  be  superfluous  to  enlarge  upon  the  advantages  to 
individuals  resulting  from  the  habits  of  economy  and  saving 
which  have  been  greatly  promoted  by  the  savings  bank  system  in 
many  of  the  Northern  States.  It  is  quite  pertinent,  however,  to 
emphasize  the  far  more  important  political  and  economic  effects 
which  result  from  the  existence  of  a  numerous  class  with 
savings  invested  in  securities  based  upon  local  lands  and 
stability  of  government.  The  most  striking  example  is 
that  of  France,  in  its  payment  of  the  enormous  German  war  in- 
demnity exacted  from  it  after  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  Never 
before  in  history  had  a  nation  been  able  to  anticipate  its  obliga- 
tions as  did  the  French  nation  in  the  pre-payment  of  that  heavy 
burden.  Because  of  this  nearly  all  the  small  land  owners  in 
France  became  stockholders  in  the  finances  of  the  State.  That 
fact  converted  them  from  turbulent  agitators  into  conservative 
citizens,  who  at  a  later  date  prevented  the  overthrow  of  the  Re- 
public, because  their  interest  in  the  land,  as  represented  by  their 
investment  in  government  securities,  led  them  to  uphold  the 
Government. 

The  same  result  has  been  frequently  manifested  in  the  case 
of  harmful   political   and   economic   agitations   in   this   country, 


BANKS  AND  FINANCIAL  INTERESTS.  117 

notably  when  the  great  savings  banks  deposits  of  thousands  of 
working  people,  invested  in  securities  based  upon  land,  led  them 
to  oppose  and  overthrow  the  fallacies  which  otherwise  would 
have  prevailed,  to  the  great  harm  of  all  capital. 

The  more  direct  effect  of  the  savings  bank  system  is  to  provide 
a  large  body  of  home  capital,  loanable  at  small  rates  of  interest, 
and  always  available  for  sound  business  purposes  directed  to  the 
development  of  the  country  and  based  upon  its  land  values. 

This  is  the  great  need  of  Texas.  It  now  borrows  great  sums 
of  money  every  year  from  Northern  banks  to  move  its  cotton 
crop.  Its  merchants  are  compelled  to  buy  on  long  time  in  order 
to  give  the  long  credit  demanded  by  the  farmers  and  land  owners. 
The  savings-bank  system  would  ere  long  abolish  this  expensive 
and  wasteful  method  and  replace  it  by  true  economic  methods 
that  would  not  only  multiply  home  capital,  but  keep  it  at  home 
and  prosper  upon  the  profit  of  its  use,  in  place  of  paying  a  profit 
to  other  States  from  which  it  is  now  necessary  to  borrow  heavily. 

We  will  give  one  example  by  way  of  explanation.  A  savings 
bank  in  New  York  City,  established  in  1848,  had  on  hand  as 
follows : 

January  1st,  -1849,  total  deposits $15,845.04 

January  1st,  1901,  total  deposits 16,000,000.00 

Owned  by  over  22,000  depositors  with  over  $9,000,000 
loaned  on  bond  and  mortgage. 

The  savings  banks  in  New  York  State,  held  on  June  30, 
1901,  11,105,076,764.67,  owned  by  2,129,790  depositors. 

Amounts  deposited  during  year  end- 
ing June  30,  1901,  were $276,317,181.17 

Amounts  withdrawn  during  the  year 

ending  June   30,   1901 243,171,637.46 

Making  a  net  increase  in  deposits  for 

the  year  of 33,145,543.71 

Amount   of   interest   credited   to   de- 
positors for  the  year   32,606,746.78 

At  least  50  per  cent,  of  these  deposits  are  invested  in  bonds 
and  mortgages  on  real  estate  in  the  State  of  New  York.  We 
give  these  figures  to  show  how  rapidly  the  savings  of  the  poor 
increase.     Please  allow  us  to  call  your  special  attention  to  the 


118  BANKS  AND  FINANCIAL  INTERESTS. 

interest  credited  to  the  depositors  during  the  year  ending  June 
30,  1901. 

Your  committee  would  also  suggest  that  the  Legislature  of 
Texas  take  under  careful  consideration  the  granting  of  char- 
ters to  loan  and  trust  companies,  on  lines  similar  to  those 
created  under  our  laws.  These  institutions  are  intended  to 
act  as  savings  banks  with  enlarged  powers.  They  also  lend 
money  on  real  estate,  which  national  banks  cannot  do.  These 
institutions  would  seek  farmers  and  builders  as  borrowers,  and 
in  this  way  help  to  provide  cheap  money,  so  much  desired  by 
the  people. 

Texas  has  been  wise  beyond  other  States  in  its  munificent 
provision  for  the  education  of  its  children.  Why  not  provide  by 
the  same  wise  legislation  places  where  the  poor  can  deposit  their 
small  savings,  thereby  encouraging  economy,  which  can  only  end 
in  prosperity  and  happiness;  always  remembering  that  the  laws 
must  place  around  these  institutions  every  possible  safeguard  to 
protect  the  depositors,  and  such  wise  provision  for  taxing  trust 
companies  that  they  may  be  compelled  to  pay  their  just  propor- 
tion of  the  State  and  local  taxes? 

Your  committee  begs  to  urge  one  other  thought  upon  the 
people  of  the  Lone  Star  State — the  importance  of  rebuilding  their 
grand  seaport,  Galveston.  Nothing  would  result  in  greater  profit 
to  the  great  commonwealth  than  providing  Galveston  with  some 
positive  means  of  placing  her  beyond  disaster  from  storm.  As 
our  beautiful  harbor  of  New  York  is  absolutely  necessary  to  New 
York  State,  so  is  the  port  of  Galveston  to  Texas.  Help  build  her 
up.  As  she  grows  so  will  the  State  increase  in  wealth,  pros- 
perity and  happiness. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

D.  S.  Ramsay, 

Chairman, 

Frank  L.  Sheldon, 
Wm.  G.  Hoople, 

Committee. 


PUBLIC     EDUCATIONAL    INSTITUTIONS 

IN  TEXAS. 


I. 

GENERAL  EDUCATIONAL  ASPECTS. 


DURING  the  two  weeks  spent  in  traveling  through  all  of  the 
principal  cities  and  most  of  the  large  towns  of  Texas,  on  the 
merchants'  special  train  from  New  York,  the  members  of  your 
committee  personally  visited  both  the  white  and  colored  schools 
of  all  parts  of  the  State.  They  were  surprised  to  find  the  school- 
houses  large  and  commodious,  and  in  many  instances  vying  with 
those  of  our  Northern  States  for  convenience  and  size  and  number 
of  pupils.  The  white  schools  are  kept  entirely  distinct  from  the 
colored  schools,  and,  however  this  may  be  in  the  North,  it  is 
evident  that  in  the  South  this  is  a  very  wise  and  important  ar- 
rangement. The  colored  schools  have  generally  teachers  of  their 
own  color,  although  in  some  instances  white  teachers  were  found 
in  the  colored  schools.  In  the  white  schools  white  teachers  only 
are  allowed. 


THE  HIGH  GRADE  OF  SCHOLARSHIP  AND 
GENERAL  ADVANCEMENT. 

WHAT  struck  your  committee  most  surprisingly  during  their 
visit  was  the  high  state  of  advancement  noticed  in  many 
of  these  schools,  so  that  as  regards  scholarship  and  education  in 
nearly  every  branch  the  schools  throughout  Texas  compared  very 
favorably  with  the  schools  of  our  Northern  States.  It  is  also  evi- 
dent that  the  general  advancement  is  far  more  rapid  in  Texas  than 


120  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

in  the  North,  so  that  it  seems  not  at  all  improbable  that,  with  their 
magnificent  school  fund,  they  may  soon  even  surpass  in  excellence 
our  schools  in  the  North.  The  State  School  Fund  of  Texas  is 
very  large,  and,  in  fact,  there  is  no  other  State  in  the  Union  that 
can  compare  with  it.  The  amount  of  this  enormous  school  fund, 
as  taken  from  the  official  and  authoritative  State  Department  of 
Education,  approximates  $42,000,000.  Of  this  amount  about  one- 
half  is  invested  in  bonds  and  other  income-bearing  investments 
and  about  one-half  is  represented  by  land  owned  by  the  School 
Board,  an  area  of  about  twenty  millions  of  acres,  exceeding  that 
of  the  entire  State  of  Pennsylvania. 

Texans  have  every  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  immense  school 
fund,  which  guarantees  free  education  to  every  boy  and  girl 
throughout  the  State.  It  might  be  well,  as  it  seems  to  us,  if  dur- 
ing childhood  education  were  compulsory  in  Texas,  as  it  is  now 
in  the  Eastern  and  Northern  States.  Possibly,  owing  to  the  fact 
that  children  mature  at  an  earlier  age  in  the  South  than  in  the 
North,  the  limit  should  be  from  7  to  12  instead  of  from  12  to  14, 
as  it  is  in  the  North.  But  we  doubt  not  this  will  soon  be  the  case, 
and  it  well  may  be,  for  she  has  a  fund  for  this  purpose. 


THE  IMMENSE  FIELD. 

WE  found  the  School  Board  and  the  trustees  and  members  of 
the  school  committees  always  ready  to  assist  and  aid  us  in 
our  endeavors  to  get  at  the  educational  status  of  the  State.  They 
are  deservedly  proud  of  their  fine  showing  in  regard  to  school- 
houses,  the  vast  array  of  good  school-teachers  and  the  grow- 
ing interest  displayed  by  all  those  connected  with  education 
throughout  the  State.  Indeed,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
school  fund  of  the  Lone  Star  State  is  greater  in  proportion  even 
to  the  size  of  the  State  than  that  of  any  other  State  of  the  Union, 
and  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  State  of  Texas  is  a  vast 
empire  in  itself,  larger  than  all  New  England  with  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania  combined. 

Daniel  Webster,  in  his  great  speech  of  the  7th  of  March,  1850, 
by  a  bold  figure  of  speech,  speaking  of  Texas,  declared  it  "so  vast 
that  a  bird  could  not  fly  over  it  in  a  week."  This  State  alone  is 
five  times  as  large  as  the  entire  British  Isles,  and  equal  to  thirty- 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  121 

four  States,  each  the  size  of  Massachusetts.  It  is  larger  than 
the  whole  of  France,  and,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  it  is  never- 
theless true  that  if  the  entire  living  population  of  the  globe — 
fourteen  hundred  million — was  divided  into  families  of  five  per- 
sons each  all  those  families  could  be  accommodated  in  the  present 
State  of  Texas — not  after  the  manner  of  our  city  dwellings, 
crowding  a  house  or  two  houses  upon  a  lot  25x100  feet,  but 
allowing  each  family  a  house  lot  of  one-half  an  acre,  and  then 
there  would  be  a  surplus  of  more  than  seventy  millions  of  family 
lots  untaken. 

The  mind  is  almost  bewildered  in  considering  so  large  a  ques- 
tion as  the  educational  status  and  progress  over  so  immense  a 
territory. 

When  the  party  of  the  Merchants'  Association  was  being 
organized  to  visit  Texas  we  were  quite  doubtful  of  the  trip  at  first, 
fearing  the  trials,  tribulations,  hardships  and  dangers  of  a  journey 
through  a  wilderness  inhabited,  as  some  reported,  only  by  Texas 
steers  and  outlaws.  We  half  expected  to  be  "held  up,"  as  they 
term  it  out  West. 

We  have  been  greatly  surprised  by  Texas  and  her  people,  we 
must  admit,  and  most  agreeably.  Most  joyously  so,  indeed.  The 
Lone  Star  State  is  a  wonder;  a  marvel.  Its  possibilities  are  sim- 
ply illimitable;  its  people  the  most  courteous  and  hospitable  we 
ever  met,  and  they  grew  into  our  hearts  more  each  day  as  we 
met  them. 

As  the  committee  of  education  of  our  party  we  have  been 
making  a  special  study  along  the  educational  line.  It  scarcely 
expresses  the  fact  to  say  that  we  were  astounded  when  we  learned 
that  the  State  had  $4,000,000  in  the  public  school  treasury,  a  pub- 
lic school  fund  from  the  interest  of  which,  supplemented  by  a 
small  taxation,  it  supports  its  schools,  and  in  addition  many  mil- 
lions of  acres  of  land  belonging  to  this  same  school  fund,  rented 
out  for  pasture  lands,  and  yearly  becoming  more  valuable.  We  find 
that  Texas  is  ahead  of  any  State  in  the  Union  in  provision  for 
her  public  schools.  We  found  not  only  at  Austin  a  splendid  State 
University,  but  in  every  city  and  town  we  have  seen  school  build- 
ings, handsome,  commodious  and  equipped  with  all  the  apparatus 
necessary  to  the  methods  of  modern  education.  We  have  met 
Texas  educators  and  found  them  to  be  learned  and  refined  gentle- 


122  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

men,  up  to  date  in  all  things.  Texas  has  great  reason  to  be  proud 
of  her  State  for  many  things,  but  especially  for  her  educational 
facilities,  and  we  shall  open  the  eyes  of  the  Northern  people  when 
we  tell  them  of  these  things. 


II. 
THE  ATHENS  OF  TEXAS. 

WACO  has  been  called  the  Athens  of  Texas,  and  with  her 
we  will  begin.  The  history  of  her  public  free  schools 
is  an  interesting  study,  more  than  any  other  department  of  in- 
dustry, showing  the  growth  of  the  city  from  1882,  the  year  the 
system  was  organized,  to  the  present  time.  Beginning  with 
three  small  houses,  ten  rooms  and  200  seats,  the  schools  have 
reached  proportions  truly  grand,  compared  with  the  start  made 
nineteen  years  ago.  There  are  now  school  buildings,  sites  and 
furniture  valued  at  |283,000  and  seatings  for  3,500  pupils,  and 
still  there  is  not  room  enough  to  accommodate  the  school  popu- 
lation. So  great  is  the  pressure  that  the  board  has  applied  to 
the  City  Council  for  an  issue  of  |60,000  in  school  bonds  in  order 
to  add  twenty-one  to  the  sixty-six  rooms,  and  that  will,  it  is 
believed,  relieve  the  pressure  for  at  least  one  year  ahead  of  the 
present  date,  after  which  other  rooms  will  be  necessary,  for  the 
school  population  grows  marvelously  and  never  halts. 

Of  the  entire  revenues  of  the  city,  amounting  to  |200,000,  the 
maintenance  of  the  public  schools  requires  25  per  cent.  The 
city  schools  cost  the  taxpayers  |oO,000  a  year,  and,  nevertheless, 
they  fall  short  of  meeting  the  demand  for  free  education. 

Superintendent  Gallagher  submitted  a  report  for  the  year 
ending  June  30,  1884,  showing  that  at  that  time  the  city  sus- 
tained two  schools  for  white  and  three  for  colored  pupils,  and 
that  the  total  value  of  the  school  property  that  year  was  $10,300. 
The  number  of  white  teachers  employed  in  1884  was  eleven  and 
of  colored  teachers  seven.  The  schools  cost  that  year  $12,150. 
The  year  1885  began  with  lessening  prejudices  against  the  public 
school  and  prejudice  had  largely  disappeared  before  the  term 
of  1886  began.  From  the  latter  year  the  improvement  in  the 
public  schools  was  rapid  and  astonishing. 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  123 

Superintendent  Lattimore's  report  shows  an  enrollment  for 
the  current  year  of  5,000  pupils,  53  white  and  13  colored  teachers 
and  school  property  valued  at  not  much  under  |300,000.  The 
report  of  Prof.  Lattimore  now  shows  vast  improvement  in  the 
courses  of  study,  in  the  text  books  in  use,  and  in  all  the  facilities 
adopted  for  the  regulation  and  maintenance  of  the  schools  and 
for  the  comfort  of  the  teachers  and  the  children. 

Waco  pays  $50,000  a  year  for  public  education,  which  is  one- 
fourth  part  of  its  revenues,  and  the  City  Council  is  preparing  to 
increase  that  expenditure,  because  the  school  population  is  not 
yet  provided  for  as  the  intelligent  and  liberal  taxpayers  think 
should  be  the  case. 

In  addition  to  the  public  free  schools  Waco  is  liberally  pro- 
vided with  other  educational  institutions.  There  are  two  busi- 
ness colleges,  with  an  aggregate  enrollment  of  800  pupils,  and 
several  select  schools  in  which  the  young  people  are  trained  for 
academies  and  universities.  There  are  two  universities  in 
Waco,  both  of  which  are  patronized  by  distant  States  as  well  as 
Texas.  Baylor  University,  according  to  the  catalogue  about  to 
be  issued,  has  an  enrollment  of  912  pupils.  It  is  a  co-educational 
university,  and  the  sexes  are  about  equally  represented  in  the 
list.  Its  correlated  schools  are  Howard  Payne  College  at 
Brownwood,  Decatur  College  at  Decatur,  Burleson  College  at 
Greenville,  East  Texas  Institute  at  Rusk  and  Baylor  Female 
College  at  Belton.  Nearly  fifty  high  schools  and  private  acade- 
mies are  affiliated  with  Baylor  University,  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant of  which  are  the  Ball  High  School  of  Galveston,  Hous- 
ton High  School  of  Houston,  Thomas  Arnold  High  School  and 
the  Bell  Academy  of  Bell  County. 

Important  recent  improvements  in  the  Baylor  Universitv 
are  a  beautiful  two-story  brick  building,  used  as  a  dining  hall  and 
as  a  hall  of  fine  arts,  an  excellent  engine-house  and  four  brick 
buildings  used  as  dormitories  for  the  boys.  The  faculty  has 
been  strengthened  by  the  addition  of  several  new  educators,  who 
represent  the  best  training  in  their  specialties  in  the  world.  The 
regents  are  preparing  to  build  a  science  hall  which  will  embody 
the  best  ideas  of  the  times.  The  university  has  lately  come  into 
possession  of  a  mammoth  building  which  is  being  equipped  for 
a  gymnasium. 


124  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

Add-Ran  University,  also  co-educational,  located  in  North 
Waco,  is  a  brick  building  four  stories  high,  on  a  campus  of 
twenty  acres,  which  has  lately  been  improved,  with  shade  trees 
and  cement  walks.  Add-Ran  University  was  removed  from 
Thorpe  Springs  to  Waco  in  December,  1895.  Recently  a  dor- 
mitory was  built  for  the  young  ladies.  The  property  is  valued 
at  1150,000.     It  has  250  pupils,  male  and  female,  on  its  rolls. 

Paul  Ouinn  College,  in  East  Waco,  is  an  institution  for  col- 
ored people,  taught  by  colored  teachers  and  supported  by  col- 
ored patronage.  It  is  a  handsome  brick  building,  with  a  campus 
of  fifteen  acres.  It  is  not  only  an  excellent  academy  for  mental 
training,  but  it  has  an  industrial  department,  in  which  its  pupils 
are  taught  useful  trades.     It  has  on  its  rolls  300  pupils. 


III. 
HOUSTON  AND  GALVESTON. 


WE  did  not  see  as  much  of  the  public  schools  at  Houston 
as  we  wished,  but  what  we  did  see  was  excellent,  and 
we  are  informed  that  the  public  and  private  schools  in  that  city 
are  fully  up  to  the  mark,  and  will  equal,  as  regards  scholarship 
and  thoroughness,  any  schools  in  the  State.  Her  schoolhouses 
are  well  built  and  her  teachers  are  among  the  best. 

We  visited  the  city  of  Galveston,  which,  on  September  8, 
1900,  was  prostrated  by  a  storm  unparalleled  in  the  history  of 
the  country  for  violence  and  destructiveness.  In  common  with 
practically  every  structure  in  the  city  the  school  buildings  suf- 
fered severe  damage  and  were  rendered  unfit  for  use.  In  this 
emergency  some  friends  of  the  University  of  Texas  came  to  the 
assistance  of  the  board  and  advanced  funds  for  such  temporary 
repairs  as  would  permit  the  early  resumption  of  school  work. 
The  total  destruction  by  the  storm  of  all  property  appalled  us, 
and  we  were  glad  to  remember  that  in  common  with  all  the 
North  the  Merchants'  Association  sent  timely  and  substantial 
rehef  to  the  sufferers.  The  city  is,  however,  rapidly  recovering 
and  will  soon  be  again  one  of  our  most  prosperous  cities. 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  125 


IV. 
SAN  ANTONIO  AND  HER  SCHOOLS. 


SAN  ANTONIO  is  not  only  the  largest  city  in  the  State  of 
Texas,  but  in  proportion  to  its  population  it  is  one  of  the 
most  active  and  vigorous,  and  its  schools  are  in  full  keeping 
with  this  fact.  Although  a  city  of  nearly  70,000  inhabitants,  the 
superb  quality  and  number  of  fine  buildings  would  indi- 
cate a  city  of  even  much  larger  dimensions.  The  public 
buildings  of  a  city  are  justly  considered  as  an  index  of  its  char- 
acter, especially  in  an  educational  way,  and  it  will  be  seen  that 
those  of  San  Antonio  speak  eloquently  and  well  for  the  taste 
and  ability  of  a  people  who  have  full  faith  in  the  future. 

The  city  is  perhaps  best  known  by  the  ancient  mission  of  San 
Antonio  de  Valero,  known  the  world  over  as  "The  Alamo," 
founded  in  1716,  and  for  many  years  used  as  a  fort.  As  the 
scene  of  Santa  Anna's  massacre  of  the  Texan  patriots  in  1836,  it 
has  a  world-wide  fame,  and  is  in  the  most  populous  part  of  the 
city  itself.  A  picture  of  the  New  Yorkers  and  their  friends  of 
the  Texan  delegations  was  taken,  with  this  old  mission  in  the 
backgiound.  Each  of  these  old  San  Antonio  missions  has  a 
noted  history,  and  it  is  almost  a  part  of  a  liberal  education  to 
know  it.  The  first,  or  Mission  Concepcion,  founded  in  1716, 
was  the  scene  of  a  battle  between  the  Mexican  and  Texan  troops 
in  1835;  the  second,  or  Mission  San  Jose  de  Aguayo,  founded 
in  1720,  and  the  third,  or  San  Juan  Capistrano,  founded  in  1716, 
were  the  rendezvous  of  the  Texans  in  1835,  just  previous  to 
their  capture  of  San  Antonio.  These  are  all  noted  old  buildings, 
and  during  his  frequent  trips  in  the  South  the  writer  has  visited 
them  many  times.  The  fine  old  Cathedral  of  San  Fernando  is 
located  in  the  very  heart  of  the  town.  They  are  all  well  worthy 
of  a  visit  from  those  who  are  spending  the  summer  in  the  Sunny 
South,  for  truly  these  old  missions  are  veritable  histories  pre- 
served in  stone  and  mortar  that  never  fail  to  inspire  the  thought- 
ful observer. 

San  Antonio  has  the  finest  schools  and  schoolhouses  in  the 
State,  which  is  saying  a  good  deal,  for  there  are  many  splendid 


126 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 


public  educational  edifices  through  the  State  than  can  scarcely 
be  surpassed  anywhere.  She  has  more  than  forty  schools, 
public  and  private,  several  of  which  were  visited  by  your  com- 
mittee. For  the  sake  of  those  who  may  desire  to  correspond 
with  any  of  these  high-class  schools  and  colleges  throughout  the 
State  we  subjoin  the  following  list  of  fifty  of  the  leading  Texan 
educational  institutions,  giving  the  post-ofifice  address  and  the 
Church  proclivities  of  each: 


Name. 


St.  Mary's  Female  Academy  . . . , 

Bickler  Academy 

Baylor  Female  College 

Carlton  Female  College 

Evangelical  Lutheran  College . . , 

Daniel  Baker  College 

Howard  Payne  College , 

Henry  College , 

Industrial  Female  School 

Chappell  Hill  Female  College. . 
East  Texas  Normal  College. . . . , 
Academy  of  the  Sacred  Heart. . 
Mrs.  Miller's  Female  Seminary. 

North  Texas  Normal 

Fort  Worth  University 

St,  Ignatius  Academy. 
St.  Mary's  University 
Culberson  Select  School, 
Massey  College 


Church. 


Catholic 

None 

Baptist 

None 

Lutheran  

Presbyterian 

Baptist 

None 

Roman  Catholic 

Methodist  E.,  South. 

None 

None 

None 

None 

Methodist  Episcopal  , 


Post  Office 
Address. 


Austin 

Austin 

Belton 

Bonham 

Brenham 

Brownwood 

Brownwood 

Campbell 

Castroville 

ChappellHill 

Commerce 

Corsicana 

Corsicana 

Denton 

Fort  Worth 

Fort  Worth 

Galveston 

Gillsboro 

Houston 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 


127 


Postoffice 
Address. 


Houston  Academy 

Alexander  Institute 

Southeast  Texas  College 

Randolph  College 

Laredo  Seminary 

Patton  Female  Seminary 

East  Texas  Baptist  Institute 

Mrs.  Mulholland's  Female  School. 

Peacock's  School 

St   Mary's  Female  Hall 

St.  Mary's  College 

San  Antonio  Academy 

S.  A.  Female  College 

Ursaline  Female  Academy    

Coronal  Institute 

Thos.  Arnold  High  School 

North  Texas  Female  College 

Sherman  Private  School 

John  Tarleton  College 

Columbia  College 

Methodist  Orphanage 

Douglas- Schuler  School 

Texas  Female  Seminary 

Weatherford  College 

Grayson  College 

Male  and  Female  College 

Southwestern  University 

Austin  College 

Trinity  University 

Add-Ran  University 

Baylor  University 


None 

Methodist  E.,  South 

None   

None 

Methodist  E.,  South 

None 

Baptist 

None 

None 

Protestant  Episcopal 

Roman  Catholic 

None 

Methodist  E.,  South 

No  data 

Methodist  E.,  South 

None 

Methodist  E.,  South 

None 

None 

None 

Methodist  E.,  South, 

None 

Cumberland  Pres.... 
Methodist  E.,  South 

None 

None 

Methodist  E.,  South 

Presbyterian 

Cumberland  Pres.... 
Disciples  of  Christ.  . 
Baptist 


Houston 

Jacksonville 

jasper 

Lancaster 

Laredo 

Oak  Cliff 

Rusk 

San  Antonio 

San  Antonio 

San  Antonio 

San  Antonio 

San  Antonio 

San  Antonio 

San  Antonio 

San  Marcos 

Salado 

Sherman 

Sherman 

Stephenville 

Van  Alstyne 

Waco 

Waco 

Weatherford 

Weatherford 

Whitewright 

Willis 

Georgetown 

Sherman 

Tehuacana 

Waco 

Waco 


COLORED  SCHOOLS. 


Name. 

Church. 

Post  Office 
Address. 

Tillotson  College 

Mary  Allen  Female  Seminary 

Wiley  University 

Bishop  College 

Guadalupe  College 

Congregational 

Presbyterian 

Methodist  Episcopal. 

Baptist 

Baptist 

Austin 

Crockett 

Marshall 

Marshall 

Seguin 

Waco 

Paul  Quinn  College  

Methodist  Episcopal  . 

To  Hon.  George  W.  Brackenridge,  of  San  Antonio,  is  due, 
perhaps,  more  than  to  any  other  one  man.  the  advancement  of 


128  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

education  in  the  Lone  Star  State.  As  President  of  the  Board 
of  Regents  of  the  University  of  Texas,  and  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Lands,  as  well  as  by  his  large  gifts  in  various 
directions,  he  has  earned  the  thanks  of  every  true  Texan.  It  may 
be  added  that  the  State  of  Texas  donated  to  the  State  Univer- 
sity by  the  Constitution  of  1876,  one  million  acres  of  western 
lands,  and  by  the  act  of  1883  added  another  million  acres,  mak- 
ing a  total  of  two  million  acres  to  this  university  alone.  A 
State  which  can  alTord  to  make  such  magnificent  gifts  truly 
deserves  our  commendation,  and  future  generations  will  reap 
a  rich  reward  in  an  educational  way. 


V. 
WHAT  THE  STATE  UNIVERSITY  HAS  DONE  AND  IS 

DOING. 


IN  considering  this  magnificent  gift  of  the  State,  the  fact  should 
be  considered  that  the  University  of  Texas  has  accomplished 
a  great  deal  during  the  past  two  years  towards  improving  the 
public  schools.  By  establishing  and  equipping  a  school  of  peda- 
gogy for  the  special  training  of  teachers,  by  opening  all  its  courses 
to  teachers  twenty-one  years  old,  free  from  regulations  governing 
candidates  for  degrees,  by  conducting  summer  schools  for  teach- 
ers who  are  unable  to  attend  the  regular  sessions  of  the  university, 
by  systematic  communication  with  the  teachers  through  circular- 
letters  and  private  correspondence  and  by  sending  members  of  its 
faculty  to  visit,  inspect,  address  and  affiliate  the  State  high  schools, 
the  university  has  shown  itself  fully  alive  to  its  duty  and  its  oppor- 
tunity as  the  head  of  the  public  school  system  of  Texas.  But  it 
has  been  greatly  hindered  in  its  work  by  lack  of  funds,  which  this 
great  gift  is  intended  to  supply.  The  improvement  of  the  public 
schools  depends  largely  on  thoroughly  educated,  broad-minded 
teachers.  This  is  so  evident  and  so  palpable  that  it  was  felt  that 
special  provision  should  be  made  to  accomplish  this  result. 

In  fact,  this  University  of  Texas  is  a  component  part  of  "The 
General  System  of  Education"  demanded  by  the  fathers  of  the 
Republic  and  the  State  more  than  half  a  century  ago.     Since  its 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  129 

orc^anization,  in  1883,  it  has  continued  to  develop  in  the  direction 
indicated  by  its  founders.  It  is  gratifying  to  know  this,  as  the 
past  year  has  been  marked  by  more  than  usual  growth  and  devel- 
opment. 

As  further  showing  the  importance  of  this  great  University  of 
Texas,  it  should  be  remembered  that  over  thirty  public  and  private 
schools   have  been  affiliated  with  the  university. 

These  public  high  schools  are  located  in  Abilene,  Beaumont, 
Beeville,  Bowie,  Bryan,  Cameron,  Carthage,  Cleburne,  Dublin, 
Gatesville,  Greenville,  Henderson,  Henrietta,  Honey  Grove,  Kauf- 
man, Kerrville,  Llano,  Marshall,  A'lineola,  San  Angelo,  San  Saba, 
Sherman,  Terrell,  Troupe  and  Tyler. 

The  private  schools  are  as  follows  :  Bruce  Academy,  Athens  ; 
Ferris  Institute,  Ferris ;  Henry  College,  Campbell ;  Woll  School, 
Honey  Grove,  and  Whitis  Avenue  School,  at  Austin. 


VI. 

SCHOOLS   FOR   THE    BLIND   AND  FOR   THE  DEAF  AND 

DUMB. 


TEXAS  has  a  so-called  "Institution  for  the  Blind."  This  school 
has  a  beautiful  location  in  the  city  of  Austin.  Its  fine 
buildings  present  an  attractive  appearance,  and  all  are  arranged 
with  reference  to  the  comfort  of  the  inmates.  The  State  has 
appropriated  liberally  for  the  new  buildings  and  the  patronage  of 
the  school  has  continued  to  increase.  The  Lone  Star  State  pays 
the  entire  cost  of  the  maintenance  of  this  school,  and  furnishes  a 
home  and  a  place  where  all  the  unfortunate  blind  children  in  the 
State  of  Texas  can  receive  such  training  as  will  fit  them  for  useful 
and  happy  lives  after  manhood  and  womanhood  are  attained. 

It  also  has  a  fine  and  commodious  "Institution  for  the  Deaf 
and  Dumb,"  located  in  a  beautiful  spot  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
city  of  Austin,  across  the  Colorado  River,  on  a  hill  overlooking 
the  surrounding  country.  The  number  and  arrangement  of  the 
different  buildings  belonging  to  the  school  were  such  as  to  astound 


130  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

your  committee,  and  seemed  amply  adequate  for  all  the  demands 
that  could  be  made  upon  them.  What  State  in  the  Union  can  show 
a  better  record? 


VII. 
THE  SAM  HOUSTON  INSTITUTE. 


THE  Sam  Houston  Normal  Institute  for  the  training  of 
teachers  is  located  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  in  the 
town  of  Huntsville,  Walker  County.  The  place  is  rich  in  his- 
toric associations  connected  with  the  early  days  of  Texas  as  a 
State.  It  was  in  Huntsville  that  Sam  Houston  spent  his  last 
days;  it  is  here  his  remains  lie  buried,  and  the  school  fitly  re- 
ceived his  name  in  honor  of  the  hero  of  San  Jacinto. 

During  the  twenty-one  years  of  its  existence  this  noted  school 
has  enrolled  more  than  six  thousand  students,  and  has  sent  out 
nearly  fifteen  hundred  graduates.  A  large  percentage  of  the  latter 
class  are  now  among  the  most  active  teachers  of  the  State,  while 
many  of  the  non-graduates  have  done  good  work  in  the  schools  of 
the  State.  It  is  an  institution  of  which  any  State  might  well  be 
proud. 


VIII. 
THE  SCHOOLS  AT  SHERMAN. 


THE  North  Texas  Female  College  and  Conservatory  of 
Music  at  Sherman  is  particularly  worthy  of  mention,  and 
will  com.pare  favorably  with  any  institution  of  its  kind  in  the 
North — Boston  not  excepted.  The  curriculum  adopted  is  sub- 
stantially the  course  recommended  by  the  Board  of  Education, 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South.  It  is  divided  into  seven 
courses:  Mathematics,  English,  Science,  Latin,  Greek,  German 
and  French.    Each  class  recites  five  times  a  week  in  each  study, 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  131 

except  reading  and  literature.  If  you  wish  a  daughter  well 
and  thoroughly  educated,  send  her  to  North  Texas  College  and 
there  will  be  no  mistake.  We  were  beautifully  entertained  at 
this  college  by  the  President,  Mrs.  Key,  and  were  shown  how 
perfectly  all  departments  were  carried  on  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  pupils. 

Physical  culture  is  taught  in  the  most  improved  form  by  a 
thoroughly  competent  lady  instructor.  The  movements  are 
selected,  not  for  mere  show  and  intricacy,  but  as  a  healthful 
exercise,  to  give  tone  and  strength  to  the  muscles  of  the  body 
and  grace  to  deportment.  Both  the  German  and  Swedish  meth- 
ods are  used,  the  former  for  elegance,  the  latter  for  strength. 

Sherman  is  peculiarly  fortunate  in  her  schools,  both  public 
and  private,  and  it  was  a  great  pleasure  for  your  chairman  to 
visit  them  in  company  with  such  good  judges  of  what  a  school 
ought  to  be  as  Mr.  P.  W.  Horn,  the  genial  superintendent  of 
pubHc  instruction  at  Sherman,  and  Mr.  C.  G.  Crawford,  of  our 
committee,  who,  by  the  way,  is  the  senior  member  of  one  of  our 
largest  publishing  houses  in  New  York,  and  a  keen  judge  of  edu- 
cational matters,  including  schools,  teachers  and  textbooks.  We 
came  away  feeling  a  respect  for  the  town  we  had  never  felt 
before.  She  is  second  to  no  town  of  her  size  in  either  intelligence 
or  efifectiveness. 

There  are  five  public  schools  in  Sherman  which  we  visited, 
namely,  the  Public  High  School,  the  Franklin  Building,  the 
Washington  Building,  the  Jefiferson  Building  and  of  colored 
schools.,  the  Fred  Douglass  Building.  All  seemed  in  a  pros- 
perous condition.  The  new  high  school  building  was  completed 
during  the  past  year  and  it  has  been  of  almost  inestimable  ad- 
vantage to  the  high  school  department.  It  is  a  building  which 
will  be  a  credit  to  the  city  for  years  to  come,  and  Sherman  may 
well  be  proud  of  it. 


.133  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 


IX. 
BROWNWOOD  AND  GAINESVILLE. 


WE  found  at  Brownwood  eleven  church  buildings,  all  new, 
handsome  stone  and  brick  structures,  in  which  educa- 
tion seemed  to  vie  with  religion,  and  also  four  public  school 
buildings  and  two  colleges.  The  colleges  are  denominational 
schools  and  both  have  buildings  worth  about  .|40,000  each,  and 
are  well  patronized  for  a  town  of  that  size. 

Gainesville  has  also  several  fine  schools.  The  High  School 
was  particularly  imposing,  and  we  found  the  inside  in  keeping 
with  its  splendid  exterior.  The  schoolrooms  were  of  the  latest 
and  most  approved  designs  and  the  classes  were  excellently 
taught.  We  visited  also  the  South  School,  the  East  School  and 
the  Colored  School,  and  Gainesville  may  well  feel  flattered  at 
being  able  to  show  such  structures  and  such  good  attendance. 

The  reception  at  Gainesville  was  a  most  enjoyable  occasion. 
Among  other  speakers  Colonel  IMetz,  who  is  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Board  of  Education,  was  called  upon  for  an  address, 
and  as  his  remarks  have  a  direct  bearing  upon  the  subject  before 
us,  we  subjoin  them  herewith: 

'T  have  been  much  impressed  by  the  vast  mineral 
and  natural  resources  of  your  State,  but  to  my  mind  you 
have  one  resource  that  surpasses  all  the  others,  and  that 
it  your  school  system.  I  have  been  connected  with  the 
school  system  of  my  home  city  and  have  been  interested, 
for  that  reason,  particularly  in  school  work,  and  do  not 
hesitate  to  say  that  the  school  system  of  Texas  compares 
favorably  and  is  equal  to  that  of  New  York.  You  have 
a  magnificent  school  fund,  while  we  have  none.  Some 
of  you  gentlemen  from  New  York  may  not  know  it,  but 
it  is  nevertheless  a  fact,  that  there  are  4-3,000  children 
in  our  own  Borough  of  Brooklyn,  which  is  only  a  small 
part  of  the  City  of  New  York,  who  are  attending  school 
on  half  time,  because  we  have  not  schoolhouses  and 
seating  capacity  enough  to  allow  them  a  full  day's  at- 
teadance,  and  have  not  the  available  funds  to  provide 
for  them. 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  133 

"Texas  has  magnificent  school  buildings,  and  in 
many  towns  they  are  large  enough  to  meet  the  require- 
ments for  years  to  come,  which  is  eminently  proper. 
They  are  splendidly  lighted  and  ventilated.  The  cur- 
riculum for  the  public  schools  is  quite  up  to  ours,  as  is 
also  the  standard  of  qualification  for  teaching.  It  has 
been  our  privilege  and  pleasure  to  meet  many  of  the 
ladies  of  the  State,  and  I  am  sure  that  with  such  mothers 
and  such  schools  Texas  is  bound  to  have  good  citizens. 
I  am  also  pleased  to  see  that  the  schools  of  Texas  are 
managed  in  a  practical,  business-like  way  and  are  kept 
out  of  politics ;  that  the  men  of  Texas  are  vitally  in- 
terested in  their  schools  and  are  giving  them  their  best 
thought  and  attention. 

"I  congratulate  the  people  of  Texas  on  their  ad- 
vanced position  in  the  matter  of  public  education." 


X. 
THE  SCHOOLS  IN  DALLAS. 

WE  are  indebted  to  the  retiring  President  of  the  Board  of 
Education  for  public  schools  in  Dallas  for  a  full  report 
of  the  schools  of  that  large  city,  a  city  containing  over  55,000 
people  and  ten  public  white  schools  and  five  colored  schools. 
The  following  table  gives  the  names  of  these  schools  and  the 
average  attendance  during  the  past  scholastic  year: 

ENROLLMENT  FOR  1900   OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS   IN   DALLAS. 

Total 
Enrollment. 

Central  High  School 743 

East  Dallas  School 708 

Cumberland  Hill  School 595 

McKinney  Avenue  School 568 

Cedar  Lawn  School 521 

Oak  Grove  School 459 

San  Jacinto  School 467 

Columbian   School 466 

Alamo  School 282 

Bryan  Street  School 196 

Total  White 5,005 


134/  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

COLORED    SCHOOLS. 

High  School 501 

School  No.  1 256 

School  No.  2 273 

School  No.  3 98 

School  No.  4 385 

Total   Colored 1,513 

Total  White  and  Colored 6,518 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  total  enrollment  for  1900 
surpasses  that  of  the  preceding  year  by  287  pupils.  Of  this 
increase  211  pupils  were  in  the  white  schools  and_76  pupils  were 
in  the  colored  schools.  In  the  white  schools  the  increase  was 
4.6  per  cent.,  and  in  the  colored  schools  it  was  5  per  cent. 

We  notice  also  that  during  the  first  months  of  the  scholastic 
year  the  increase  in  the  enrollment  over  that  of  the  correspond- 
ing months  of  last  year  was  more  than  500  pupils.  This  large 
increase  would  have  been  maintained  throughout  the  year  had 
it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  overcrowded  condition  of  the 
schools  became  so  generally  known  as  to  deter  patrons  from 
sending  their  children  who  were  not  entered  in  the  early  months 
of  the  term.  This  will  be  remedied  in  the  near  future,  for 
Dallas  is  not  to  be  left  behind  in  the  race  for  suitable  and  com- 
modious buildings  in  which  to  accommodate  her  rising  and 
rapidly-increasing  population. 

SYSTEMATIC  PHYSICAL  CULTURE. 

YOUR  committee  were  especially  pleased  with  the  high  grade 
of  physical  culture. 
Realizing  the  importance  of  giving  systematic  attention  to 
the  children's  physical  as  well  as  mental  development,  the  ef- 
fort was  made  to  give  them  regular  and  methodical  exercise 
in  physical  culture.  The  teachers  of  each  grade  held  a  monthly 
meeting  for  the  purpose  of  outlining  the  work  for  the  next 
month  and  of  discussing  the  best  methods  of  presenting  it. 
In  each  of  the  grades  a  teacher,  peculiarly  fitted  by  training  or 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  135 

experfence  lor  such  a  duty,  was  designated  to  give  the  teachers 
a  drill  in  physical  culture  which  they  in  turn  could  carry  to  their 
respective  schoolrooms  and  give  to  their  pupils  as  a  part  of 
their  regular  daily  program. 

By  this  plan  the  physical  effects  of  protracted  confinement 
in  overcrowded  schoolrooms  and  of  close  and  tedious  applica- 
tion to  text-books  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  in  most  cases 
entirely  overcome. 

PENMANSHIP  AND  DRAWING. 

YOUR  committee  were  particularly  pleased  with  the  sys- 
tem and  successful  work  in  music  and  drawing. 
Never  before  has  the  work  in  these  departments  seemed  to 
have  been  so  successfully  done.  The  adoption  of  a  new  and  late 
series  of  music  readers,  containing  songs  with  which  the  chil- 
dren were  not  familiar,  greatly  increased  the  interest  and  enthu- 
siasm in  this  department.  Wherever  this  course  is  pursued 
there  will  be  no  abatement  of  interest  in  this  subject,  and  the 
softening,  refining  and  uplifting  influence  of  happy,  cheering 
song  will  be  truly  felt  in  the  hearts  and  seen  in  the  faces  of  all 
the  children,  and  will  contribute  to  many  happy  hours  in  their 
homes. 

We  notice,  too,  that  the  specimens  of  drawing  collected  dur- 
ing the  year  indicated  increasing  skill  on  the  part  of  both  teach- 
ers and  pupils.  As  in  music,  the  importance  of  this  branch  of 
study  ought  not  to  be  overlooked.  There  is  an  increasing  de- 
mand for  such  modification  or  enlargement  of  present  educa- 
tional methods  as  will  train  the  hand  of  the  child,  as  well  as  the 
head  and  heart.  This  demand  has  its  foundation  in  sound 
reason  and  must  be  heeded.  The  first  step  in  this  direction  and 
the  connecting  link  between  the  present  and  the  coming  educa- 
tional systems  is  drawing. 

The  only  subjects  that  require  children  to  work  with  their 
hands  are  penmanship  and  drawing.  Every  other  subject 
teaches  them  to  know  something,  but  only  these  teach  them  to 
do  something.  In  the  training  of  the  hand  and  the  eye  and  in 
the  development  of  tastes  and  judgment  the  educational  and 
practical  value  of  drawing  is  recognized.     Hence,  the  impor- 


1.3'3  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

tance  of  giving  the  children  the  advantages  of  a  subject  that 
teaches  them  to  do  as  well  as  to  know,  and  in  this  the  officers 
of  the  Dallas  public  schools  have  succeeded  admirably  and  are 
to  be  congratulated.  Indeed,  our  Northern  schools  may  well 
take  a  lesson  from  them. 

THE  STATE  FEDERATION  AT  DALLAS. 

IT  Vv'as  here  in  Dallas  that  we  met  the  State  Federation  of 
Educational  Women's  Clubs  at  their  annual  meeting;  a  lively 
contest  was  just  then  going  on  for  the  annual  election  of  officers 
for  the  coming  year.  This  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs  in 
Texas  is  particularly  deserving  of  consideration.  It  is  as  yet 
young  in  years,  but  it  has  manifested  a  lively  and  practical  in- 
terest in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  public  school  teachers 
throughout  the  entire  State.  The  following  are  the  principal 
avenues  through  which  this  great  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs 
tender  their  practical  and  efficient  assistance  to  the  public  schools : 
(1.)  The  organization  of  mothers'  clubs  for  the  study  of  child 
life  in  its  relations  to  the  school.  (2.)  The  introduction  of  the 
kindergarten,  wherever  practicable,  into  the  public  schools.  (3.) 
Aid  and  encouragement  towards  the  introduction  of  manual 
training  in  the  public  schools,  wherever  it  can  be  secured. 
(4.)  To  institute  a  system  of  free  traveling  libraries,  especially 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  rural  districts.  (5.)  Tq  encourage 
the  beautifying  of  school  grounds  by  systematic  tree-planting, 
and  to  assist  in  making  the  schoolhouses  clean,  healthful  and  at- 
tractive, and  lastly,  by  an  earnest  co-operation  with  the  trustees 
and  the  teachers  looking  to  the  growth  and  development  of  the 
public  schools  as  a  means  to  a  better  and  broader  conception  of 
citizenship  and  a  recognition  of  the  general  brotherhood  of  man. 
Miss  Brackenridge,  of  San  Antonio,  the  leading  officer  of  the  club, 
introduced  Mr.  Alvah  Trowbridge,  who  spoke  fittingly  and 
eloquently  of  the  usefulness  of  the  Federation  and  of  his  pleas- 
ure to  meet  the  ladies.  Later  Miss  Brackenridge  introduced 
the  chairman  of  your  committee,  who  had  spent  the  early  part 
of  the  day  in  visiting  the  schools  and  gaining  information  with 
which  to  frame  this  report.  A  reporter  present  took  down  Mr. 
Hallock's  ofif-hand  remarks,  and  as  they  make  plain  some  facts 
in  regard  to  the  trip,  and  especially  as  they  give  the  views  of 


EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS.  137 

your  committee  on  the  educational  question  in  Texas  more 
completely,  we  incorporate  them  in  this  report.  After  men- 
tioning that  he  was  present  as  the  chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Education  of  the  Merchants'  Association,  and  at  Miss  Brack- 
enridge's  request,  Dr.  Hallock  spoke  as  follows: 

"We  came  expecting  to  see  a  far-off  and  rather  deso- 
late country.  We  knew  that  Texas  was  a  big  State, 
having  learned  that  from  our  geographies,  but  we  were 
by  no  means  prepared  for  the  great-hearted  hospi- 
tality of  those  who  compose  her  Commonwealth.  It 
has  made  brothers  of  us  all,  except  the  sisters,  and, 
thank  God,  they  were  perfect  before.  We  have  found 
them  so  in  this  State.  From  the  moment  we  entered 
its  borders  to  the  present  time  it  has  been  one  con- 
tinued ovation  with  us.  The  ladies,  bless  them,  are 
the  best  of  us  in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  we  could 
never  do  without  them.  Some  have  asked  us  why  we 
didn't  bring  our  wives  and  our  daughters  along  with  us. 
We  are  going  to  do  so  next  time.  This  visit  is  a  mere 
experiment,  and  we  were  not  quite  sure  what  kind  of  a 
reception  Texas  might  give  us  and  them,  and,  like 
prudent  men,  we  held  our  most  precious  goods  in  the 
background  till  we  were  certain  that  they  would  be 
safe  if  moved  to  the  front. 

"I  am  delighted  more  than  I  can  tell  you  or  express  to 
meet  so  many  representative  ladies  of  the  great  State 
of  Texas.  I  understand  from  your  president  that  the 
300  or  400  or  more  charming  ladies  before  me  are  all 
representative  of  their  various  associations  throughout 
the  Lone  Star  State,  and  that  through  them  I  am  ad- 
dressing the  entire  women  of  the  great  State  of  Texas. 
I  am  sure  of  one  thing,  and  that  is  that  there  is  no  State 
in  our  broad  Union  that  could  show  a  more  intelligent 
or  more  beautiful  collection,  and  if  these  are  represen- 
tative women  of  Texas  I  say  give  me  Texas  women 
every  time.  Of  course,  we  all  smile  when  a  bright, 
cheerful,  handsome  and  intelligent  lady  smiles  gra- 
ciously upon  us.  It  makes  us  feel  that  even  a  man — 
the  great,  awkward  animal  the  Lord  seems  to  have 
created  to  form  a  suitable  contrast  with  the  fairer  part 
of  creation — I  say  that  even  a  man  may  be  worth 
something  when  he  is  thus  noticed  by  his  superiors. 
Well,  we  shall  all  grow  younger  by  this  visit.  And,  by 
the  way,  I  was  asked  to  say  a  word  as  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Education.  I  will  only  say  this:  We 
have  visited  nearly  all  the  schools  of  every  large  city 


138  EDUCATIONAL  INSTITUTIONS. 

and  town  in  Texas,  and  we  are  surprised  at  the  evi- 
dences of  improvement  and  progress  that  is  being 
made.  Your  schools  compare  favorably  with  those  of 
the  older  States.  Your  school  fund  is  the  largest  of 
any  one  of  the  States,  and  your  schoolhouses  are 
superb.  We  go  back  with  new  experiences  and  ideas 
of  your  great  and  beautiful  State.  Its  present  is  almost 
all  that  could  be  desired  and  more  than  could  have 
been  expected,  and  its  possibilities  are  boundless.  We 
are  proud  of  our  big  brother,  and  we  shall  never  forget 
that  Old  Glory  waves  its  beautiful  stars  and  stripes  over 
the  Lone  Star  and  the  Empire  State  aUke." 

In  conclusion  your  committee  have  been  amazed  and  de- 
lighted with  the  educational  outlook  in  Texas.  It  has  been  a 
real  pleasure  to  visit  the  various  schools  and  institutions  of 
learning,  and  the  teachers,  superintendents,  officers  and  pupils 
have  seemed  so  intelligent  and  up  to  date  that  we  returned  to 
the  Empire  State  feeling  that  Texas  is  not  only  a  peer  of  our 
own  State,  but  that  she  is  rapidly  taking  a  leading  hand  in  edu- 
cational matters,  and  that  as  in  size  so  in  intelligence  and 
improvement,  she  is  destined  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the  pro- 
cession. 

Joseph  Newton  Hallock,  D.D.,  S.  T.  D., 

Chairman, 

Charles  G.  Crawford, 

Herman  A.  Metz, 

Committee. 


TEXAS    LEGISLATION    AND    ITS 
TENDENCIES. 


I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 


IT  was  happily  put  by  one  of  the  speakers  from  Texas  when 
he  said  that : 

"Texas  has  been  as  much  misunderstood  in  New  York  as  New 
York  has  been  misunderstood  in  Texas." 

Any  attempt  at  analysis  of  the  scheme  of  Texas  laws  and 
legislation  from  a  New  York  standpoint  would  simply  result  in 
the  axiomatic  finding-  that  "What  is  one  man's  meat  is  another 
man's  poison." 

Texas'  laws  are  better  fitted  for  Texas  and  New  York's  laws 
are  better  adapted  to  New  York  transactions. 

If  it  be  true  that  from  the  New  York  standpoint  Texas' 
scheme  of  legislation  seems  in  any  wise  deficient  or  even  burden- 
some, just  so  far  is  it  equally  true  that  upon  examination  from  the 
standpoint  of  Texas'  requirements  New  York's  theory  of  legisla- 
tive justice  would  be  found  equally  open  to  criticism.  There- 
fore, no  examination,  exhaustive  or  otherwise,  into  the  history, 
growth  and  structure  of  Texas  from  a  legal  standpoint,  whether 
embodied  in  her  legislative  enactments  or  the  decision  of  her 
judges,  has  been  made  or  attempted. 

From  a  purely  academic  standpoint  no  report,  therefore,  can 
be  of  great  interest,  but  from  the  practical  standpoint  it  seems 
not  inappropriate  to  say  that  your  committee  has  formed  certain 
impressions  from  contact  with  the  people,  wdth  the  members  of 


140  LEGISLATION  AND  ITS  TENDENCIES. 

the  Legislature,  with  the  judges  and  with  the  members  of  the  Bar 
of  the  State  of  Texas. 

The  character,  intelligence,  fitness  and  integrity  of  these  ele- 
ments might  seem  to  be  more  fundamental  and  quite  as  impor- 
tant as  the  mere  language  law  of  the  statute,  or  the  interpretation 
of  these  statutes  by  the  courts. 

Statute  law  is  nothing  more  than  the  formulation  of  public 
opinion  expressed  in  the  shape  of  legislative  exactment,  and  case 
law  is  but  the  interpretation  of  individual  judges  of  such  legis- 
lation. 

The  character  of  the  people  dominates  the  public  sentiment, 
which  in  turn  creates  the  statute.  The  character  of  the  legislator 
becomes  an  integral  part  of  the  legislation,  while  the  same  ele- 
ment in  the  members  of  the  Bench  and  Bar  impresses  itself  upon 
the  interpretation  of  public  opinion  thus  formulated  by  the  Legis- 
lature and  thus  interpreted  by  the  courts. 

In  general  it  is  true  that  all  statutes  and  decisions  must  be 
eventually  governed  and  controlled  both  in  their  enactment  and 
in  their  administration  by  an  intelligent  public  opinion. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  well  established  that  no  law 
which  is  contrary  to  the  best  public  sentiment  can  long  be  sus- 
tained. Public  sentiment  always  precedes  legislation,  and  in  turn 
legislation  always  follows  the  course  indicated- by  the  best  public 
opinion. 

To  a  limited  extent  the  same  is  true  with  regard  to  the  de- 
cisions of  the  courts. 

No  decision  can  long  prevail,  or  stand  unreversed  and  unmodi- 
fied, if  that  decision  is  contrary  to  the  sentiment  prevailing  among 
the  best  and  most  intelligent  classes  of  the  citizens  of  any  State. 

Neither  legislators  nor  judges  nor  members  of  the  Bar  can 
successfully  stand  out  against  a  sound,  widely  spread  public 
opinion. 

The  phraseology  of  the  statute,  the  language  of  the  judges, 
are  therefore  of  lesser  importance  than  the  foundation  of  all 
legislation. 


LEGISLATION  AND   ITS  TENDENCIES.  141 


II. 
THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE. 


THE  inquiry  in  this  respect  was  made  with  care,  and  in  divers 
parts  of  the  State,  and,  what  is  more  important,  from  men 
who  knew  the  facts  and  whose  relations  were  such  that  they  were 
not  prejudged  in  favor  of  the  legislation  of  the  State  of  Texas. 

The  situation  is  summed  up  in  the  expression  of  a  gentleman 
well  versed  in  these  matters,  who  said  "that  the  Legislature  might 
be  charged  sometimes  with  being  prejudiced,  it  had  been  urged 
that  some  were  ignorant,  but  no  man  had  asserted,  and  sustained 
the  statement,  that  they  were  dishonest." 

"To  the  humblest  member  of  the  legislature,"  he  added, 
"argument  for  or  against  a  bill  must  be  addressed  to  the  head 
of  that  legislator  and  not  to  his  pocket." 

To  the  extent  that  this  statement  is  accurate,  to  that  extent  the 
State  of  Texas  is  to  be  congratulated  as  being  entitled  to  a  high 
rank  among  the  best  States  of  the  country.  With  legislation 
that  is  honest  no  State  is  in  danger  of  going  wrong  and  con- 
tinuing wrong. 

III. 
AS  TO  THE  CHARACTER  OF  THE  BENCH. 


YOUR  committee,  from  personal  contact  with  the  judges  of  the 
State,  were  impressed  with  the  fact  that  they  were  inclined 
to  be  rigidly  honest  and  impartial  in  the  administration  of  justice. 
More  than  this,  that  there  seemed  to  be  no  affiliations  or  rela- 
tions, social,  political  or  otherwise,  by  reason  of  which  certain 
members  of  the  Bar  were  preferred  as  against  others  not  so  situ- 
ated. 

An  impression  was  derived  by  your  committee  that  sometimes 
the  interpretation  of  the  statute  was  based  upon  the  belief  that 


142  LEGISLATION  AND  ITS  TENDENCIES. 

this  interpretation  correctly  expressed  the  will  of  the  people  as 
enacted  by  the  legislation,  but  that  in  some  instances  the  indi- 
vidual and  unofficial  judgment  of  the  judicial  officer  might  differ 
from  his  opinion  as  an  officer  of  the  court.  The  laws  of  the  State 
of  Texas  are  honestly  administered  by  the  judges  as  they  find 
them. 

Some  members  of  the  Bench  have  had  a  wider  contact  with 
the  world  than  individual  members  of  the  Legislature,  and  are, 
therefore,  broader  in  their  views.  They  recognize  the  dangers  of 
unlimited  language  as  found  in  some  of  the  statutes,  and  en- 
deavor to  impress  broader  views  upon  what  is  sometimes  narrow 
legislation. 


IV. 

THE  BAR  OF  THE  STATE 

were  found  to  be  energetic,  active  men  of  pronounced  individual- 
ism, and  of  character. 

From  the  cold  New  York  standpoint  perhaps  oratory  stands 
upon  a  higher  plane  in  Texas  than  in  New  York.  Oratory  in  the 
State  of  Texas  is  certainly  not  a  lost  art,  as  it  has  been  said  to  be 
in  the  East.  True  it  is  that  juries  are  apt  to  be  swayed  by  the  elo- 
quence of  the  advocate,  and  perhaps  more  in  Texas  than  in  New 
York,  but,  after  all,  inasmuch  as  eloquence  is  not  an  unknown 
quantity  or  a  matter  of  rarity,  inasmuch  as  every  Texan  is  an 
orator,  the  question  presents  no  difficulty  because  of  the  pre- 
ponderance of  weight  given  to  oratory. 


V. 
LEGISLATION. 

ONE  finds  that  among  the  legislation  which  has  been  most 
criticised  in  Texas  is  the  Anti-Trust  law. 
The  provisions  of  this  Anti-Trust  law  are  a  reflex  of  a  popular 
antipathy  against  monopolies ;  they  seem  to  be  a  protest  against 


LEGISLATION  AND  ITS  TENDENCIES.  143 

the  suppression  of  individualism,  and  to  the  extent  that  they 
properly  represent  these  principles  they  are  not  open  to  harsh 
criticism. 

True,  the  various  anti-trust  acts  betray  sometimes  the  "fatal 
gift  of  oratory"  in  the  framer  of  the  legislation ;  the  acts  contain 
much,  which,  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained,  it  is  not  generally  ex- 
pected will  be  literally  carried  out  to  their  logical  extent. 

Without  being  unjust,  the  act  may  be  criticised  as  somewhat 
extravagant  in  language,  carrying  to  an  illogical  extent  the  princi- 
ple of  the  protection  of  the  individual  against  the  encroachment  of 
the  monopoly. 

One  might  incline  to  the  belief  that  if  the  Legislature  of 
Texas  were  to-day  to  draw  afresh  an  anti-trust  act  which  should 
express  the  opinion  to-day  prevailing  among  the  larger  in  num- 
ber and  better  in  class  of  citizens  of  that  State,  that  different, 
more  temperate  language  and  less  words  would  be  used  than  at 
present  upon  the  statute  books. 

One  is  irresistibly  led  to  the  conclusion  that  the  anti-trust 
acts  of  to-day  are,  to  a  certain  limited  extent,  in  the  nature  of 
landmarks  of  a  former  opinion  which  to-day  does  not  prevail  to 
the  same  extent. 

We  are  not  to  be  understood  as  saying  that  Texas  to-day 
would  have  no  anti-trust  act.  We  do  not  mean  to  intimate  that 
Texas  should  have  no  law  tending  to  correct  what  every  one  must 
recognize  as  the  dangerous  tendencies  of  large  combinations,  but 
we  do  believe  that  it  would  be  to-day  expressed  in  different  form 
and  would  not  be  open  to  the  suggestion  of  going  further  than  it 
was  intended  to  go — viz.,  beyond  the  mere  pale  of  effecting  a  sup- 
pression of  wrongs,  and  into  the  field  of  making  dangerous  acts 
which  otherwise  seem  quite  legitimate. 

As  to  the  anti-trust  act,  one  sums  up  the  position  in  the 
single  statement,  that  as  a  protest  in  favor  of  individualism,  and 
as  an  attempt,  however  vigorous,  to  recognize  the  dangerous 
tendencies  of  modern  large  combinations,  it  is  not  to  be  care- 
lessly criticised,  although  it  may  be  true,  from  the  New  York 
standpoint,  the  dangers  of  these  combinations  have  been  over- 
estimated in  Texas,  and  the  language  of  the  statute  overshoots 
the  mark  of  to-day  and  threatens  honest  business  enterprises. 

To  say  that  the  language  of  the  anti-trust  act  of  Texas 
does    not    deter    certain    legitimate    capital    from    coming    into 


144  LEGISLATION'  AND  ITS  TENDENCIES. 

Texas  is  to  deny  the  fact  that  more  people  are  frightened  by 
thunder  than  are  killed  by  lightning. 

In  financial  matters  it  is  the  preliminary  impression  upon 
which  the  capitalist  acts  as  a  rule  in  seeking  to  locate  capital 
rather  than  experience  derived  after  action  in  this  respect. 
Nothing  is  so  timid  as  capital,  nothing  so  easily  deterred  from 
entering  a  State  and  nothing  so  easily  withdrawn. 

The  Texas  anti-trust  acts  but  represent  the  swing  of  the 
pendulum,  and  the  true  equilibrium,  the  true  rule  for  deal- 
ing with  trusts  and  combinations  may  be  found  to  lie  some- 
where between  the  swing  of  the  pendulum  in  New  York  and 
the  reflex  swing  in  Texas. 

The  growth  of  rationality  has  not  been  limited  to  New 
York  during  the  past  years,  and  one  may  rest  assured  of 
the  fact  that  rationality  will  be  the  basis  of  Texas  action  in  the 
future  in  dealing  with  the  trust  problem. 


VI. 
THE  CORPORATION  LAWS. 


THE  corporation  laws  of  the  State  of  Texas  reflect  to  a  lim- 
ited extent  a  prejudice  more  former  than  present  against 
corporations.  It  may  be  suggested  that  the  corporation  laws 
lack  some  of  the  more  modern  provisions  for  the  modern  business 
companies;  that  they  fail  to  provide  for  certain  every-day  wants 
and  needs  of  the  business  corporations.  But  such  matters  are 
sure  to  be  corrected  at  the  hands  of  an  intelligent  legislature 
as  soon  as  the  State  of  Texas  shall  have  fully  and  practi- 
cally experienced  what  to-day  is  certainly  coming  into  its  bor- 
ders, viz.,  the  movement  and  growth  of  the  modern  business 
company,  and  the  tendency  of  business  and  business  men  to 
transact  their  business  in  proper  corporate,  rather  than  in 
individual  form. 


LEGISLATION  AND  ITS  TENDENCIES.  145 


VII. 
THE  HOMESTEAD  ACT 


has  been  the  subject  of  criticism. 

This  act  seems  to  be  the  enunciation  of  the  principle,  as 
the  Texan  sees  it,  of  the  preservation  of  the  home  and  the  pro- 
tection of  the  children,  the  widow  and  the  orphan. 

The  Texan  properly  says  that  this  statute  is  clearly  on 
the  books,  and  that  every  one  dealing  with  Texas  has  full 
notice  of  its  provisions. 

One  agrees  with  the  statement  that  every  State  has  its  laws 
of  exemption,  and  that  if  the  State  of  Texas  has  a  broader  law  of 
exemption  than  some  other  States,  it  is  a  matter  with  which 
Texans  alone  are  directly  concerned,  for  the  reason  stated  that 
outsiders  dealing  with  Texas  have  full  knowledge  of  its  reserva- 
tions and  its  provisions. 

On  the  other  hand  it  cannot  be  successfully  denied  that  in 
some  instances  attempts  have  been  made  by  persons  lacking  in 
the  delicate  sense  of  integrity  to  avail  themselves  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  for  the  purpose  of  evading  creditors. 

But  this  leads  to  the  suggestion  that  in  Texas,  as  in  all  other 
States,  there  are  some  people  who  try  to  avoid  the  payment  of  just 
obligations. 

The  courts  of  Texas  are,  however,  inclined  to  construe  the 
Homestead  Act  fairly. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


fotc^ 


.^i 


Form  L9-Series  4939 


ii.Q  ^^xx.^x^,,  *xx   j.^^u,o,   vviiivii  ciic   Willing  lu  ue  governea  in 

Texas  by  Texas  laws  and  customs,  and  do  not  seek  to  be  regu- 
lated by  New  York  law  and  custom,  seem  quite  as  safe  in  Texas 
as  elsewhere. 

James  B.  Dill, 

Committee  on  Law. 
New  York,  Dec.  3,  1901. 


3  1158  00991  4804 


HC 

107 

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UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    001  166  649    2 


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